Manchester United have rejected Inter Milan’s 60 million euros offer for Romelu Lukaku – but Antonio Conte has not given up hope of signing the striker.
Just two years after joining the Old Trafford giants, the 26-year-old is keen to move on to pastures new, with the Serie A side eager to bring him to the San Siro.
PA understands United received a 60 million euros (£54million) bid from Inter two days ago, which was rejected out of hand as it falls well short of their valuation.
The two clubs met for an International Champions Cup clash in Singapore on Saturday, when the player’s latest knock meant he watched his current employers win 1-0 from the sidelines.
Asked about Inter’s bid – and interest in Leicester defender Harry Maguire – United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer said: “Well, of course you want to have your team settled as early as possible.
“But, as I said here as well, whoever’s available, we work with them and we work with them to get them performing.
“We work them in the training and let’s see 8th or 9th of August who’s here and who’s not.”
Lukaku has yet to feature for United in pre-season due to knocks that appear to be frustrating his manager.
“If you’re a player and you don’t manage to train for a week – and he’s missed three games now – of course I think he’ll be concerned,” Solskjaer said. “He’s working to get back on the pitch and let’s see how long that takes. It’s his ankle.”
Whether Lukaku ever dons a United shirt again remains to be seen, as Inter boss Conte remains keen to sign a player who turned him down when Chelsea manager in 2017.
"In one side there is my hope, my will" – #Inter boss Antonio Conte has not given up on signing #MUFC striker Romelu Lukaku pic.twitter.com/BVyN5HIVs1— Simon Peach (@SimonPeach) July 20, 2019
“I think that I have always answered yesterday about Lukaku,” he said. “I think that it’s not right to speak about the player that in this moment is a United player.
“For this reason, I think we must show great respect for the club and at the same time also for the player and also for my players.
“As I said yesterday, Lukaku is a player…I like him, I like him because I consider him a player that could improve our team.
“But in one side there is my hope, my will. In the other side, then we’ll see what we find with the club.”
