Romelu Lukaku returned to the Premier League this summer as Chelsea re-signed the Belgian international for a club record £97.5million fee.
The Blues initially brought the Belgian to England in 2011 but Lukaku failed to impress at Chelsea, so was sold to Everton in 2014 before moving on to Manchester United in 2017.
Despite being a prolific Premier League goal scorer after leaving Chelsea, it didn't quite work for Lukaku at United and the Belgian finally left the Premier League, and improved even more as he starred for Inter Milan in Serie A.
There's no denying that Lukaku has become one of the world's best strikers, but Rio Ferdinand and Joleon Lescott had slightly differing opinions on Lukaku's time at United and how things have played out since he left.
Chelsea were in need of a physical centre-forward and Thomas Tuchel broke the bank to secure a move for the former Blues forward, who has already hit the ground running at Stamford Bridge.
Lukaku's former side, Manchester United, also went out and signed a new striker this summer, securing a return of their own as Cristiano Ronaldo re-signed for the club after 12 years away, but it could have been very different if they had kept the Belgian.
Former United star Ferdinand spoke about Lukaku's transformation, and said: "Lukaku man, he went away under a cloud at Man United and has come back an animal and someone you can count on to win you trophies."
Ferdinand went on to explain why it might not have worked for Lukaku at United, as he said: "Sometimes it’s about the club fitting the player and the player fitting that club at the right time. A lot of that is about timing, I think the timing wasn’t right for him at Man United.
"The stability they have now wasn’t there when he was there, I just don’t think it didn’t work at the time. If it was now it would be very different, I think he’d be doing what he’s doing here."
Would Romelu Lukaku have succeeded if he stayed at Manchester United? Comment below
Meanwhile, Lescott stated his belief that United should have been patient with Lukaku: "I think United would’ve got this product [Lukaku] if they were patient with Lukaku, I don’t think he’s gone away and improved that much to come back and prove a point."
United have now turned a corner after years of struggle following the departure of Sir Alex Ferguson in 2012, and the arrival of Bruno Fernandes in January 2020 helped turn around fortunes at Old Trafford.
Lukaku was sold by United just before Fernandes arrived from Sporting Lisbon, and if they had been patient with the Belgian then their fortunes may have been completely different over the last couple of seasons.
Both Lukaku and United are in a healthier position now, and both sided are expected to go head to head with both Manchester City and Liverpool for the Premier League title.
