Manchester United have had a £75m offer for Everton's Romelu Lukaku accepted. How long has this deal been in the making?
I was told this deal has been weeks in the making. It isn't just something they've swooped on today or this week.
Jose Mourinho gave executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward his transfer wish list at the start of May and there were four options for each of the four or five positions he wanted to improve. What I'm told is that, from the word go, Lukaku was the number one target for the striker berth.
I think everybody else assumed Lukaku going to Chelsea was a done deal and that allowed them to go about their work under the radar, without anybody even thinking it was possible.
However, Lukaku told my colleague Gary Cotterill last month he knew where he was going, and it seems like the deal was at a fairly advanced stage even then.
http://www.skysports.com/football/news/15115/10939471/evertons-romelu-lukaku-to-man-utd-big-transfer-deal-explained
We probably was never after Lukaku in the first place.....