Jose Mourinho believes Romelu Lukaku was still developing when he played for Manchester United.
There were high hopes for Lukaku when he joined United from Everton for £75m four years ago, but while he showed glimpses of the player the Reds thought they were signing, his time at the club perhaps didn't fulfil the promise it was supposed to.
Regardless, Lukaku, who was 24 when he signed for United, still had a more than respectable record in front of goal at Old Trafford, having scored 42 goals in 96 appearances across all competitions before signing for Inter Milan in 2019.
Since then, though, Lukaku has gone from strength to strength in Italy and the Belgian is now genuinely one of Europe's finest forwards - he's scored more goals (64) in marginally fewer appearances (95) for Inter than his record at United.
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So, where did it go wrong for Lukaku at United? Mourinho has explained he was simply still learning.
"These two years at Inter Milan have given him the stature and the self-confidence that he didn’t have before," Mourinho told the Times. "At Chelsea, he was still a kid. At Manchester United, he was still developing. At Inter he became the top man.
"He became loved – a big love from the supporters, love from teammates, great relations with the coach.
"He’s a big guy, physically so strong, but there is also a kid inside who needs that love, needs that support, needs to feel important."
