Manchester United to rival Chelsea for new star striker

Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho has told the club to beat Chelsea to the signing of Everton striker Romelu Lukaku this summer, reports The Guardian.

Mourinho worked with Lukaku during his second stint at Chelsea but the Belgium international was forced to find first-team football away from Stamford Bridge before being sold to Everton for £28m in 2014.

Lukaku is now expected to make another big money move this summer with Chelsea in pole position to bring the 23-year-old back to west London, although they could now face serious competition from Mourinho’s United.

Everton were hopeful Lukaku would sign a new deal before the end of the current campaign but the powerful striker has told the club he has no interest in extending his stay at Goodison Park and wants to leave this summer.

Lukaku is keen to play in the Champions League and that could work in Chelsea’s favour. United are currently sixth in the Premier League and are focusing all their energy into winning the Europa League as their ticket into UEFA’s premier competition next season.

While a return to Stamford Bridge would seem the most logical outcome, the fact that Mino Raiola represents Lukaku could balance the playing field. United dealt almost exclusively with Raiola last summer when they signed Paul Pogba, Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Zlatan Ibrahimovic and will hope to use their good relationship with the super agent to their advantage.

Lukaku is currently the top goalscorer in the Premier League this season, scoring at least three more goals than any other player (24).

For more stats on Romelu Lukaku, click here to visit his WhoScored player page