Man Utd legend Rio Ferdinand insists the Red Devils sold former Chelsea striker Romelu Lukaku too after he won the Serie A title with Napoli.
Lukaku scored 27 goals in his first at Old Trafford after arriving from Everton in a deal worth a reported £90m with the Belgium international hitting 87 goals in 166 appearances for the Toffees.
His second season at Man Utd didn’t go as well with his overall performances receiving criticism as the Red Devils struggled and he was soon on his way to Inter Milan in 2019 for a club-record €80m.
After two good seasons at Inter, Chelsea brought him back to the Premier League for a second spell at Stamford Bridge but he lasted one season before being hauled out on loan to Inter and then Roma.
Chelsea finally sold him to Napoli last summer, in a deal worth around €30m, with Lukaku bagging 14 goals to help Antonio Conte’s side to the Serie A title.
And Ferdinand thinks Lukaku is another good example of a Man Utd “mistake” with the Belgian written off at Old Trafford too soon.
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Ferdinand said on his Youtube channel: “I need to give a shoutout to a man called Romelu Lukaku.
“He’s another player who’s left Manchester United [and thrived]. He’s won Serie A again and scored on the night they won it.
“I look at Lukaku and the problem, especially in England, has been everyone looks at what he can’t do or what he’s not so good at.
“Just because he’s big and quick people expect him to play in a certain way. His game is about running onto things and running at people.
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“Another mistake I think Man United made was we didn’t play to his strengths and we got rid of him too quick probably.
“When you don’t play to his strengths he’s not going to be able to produce his best work.
“But he’s shown what quality he has, his goal record over the years really stacks up.”
Scott McTominay and Lukaku scored the goals that gave Napoli their crucial 2-0 win over Cagliari at the weekend to hand them their second Scudetto in three years.
After the match, Lukaku said: “I am feeling so many emotions right now. I am moved for the team and these players, we worked so hard, but we did it and that’s the important thing.
“We all won, I was just a small part of this team. We thought only about the team, everyone was important, whether they played regularly or not, that is how we took it home.”
On Conte’s influence, Lukaku continued: “I knew what the coach was capable of and thought from the start we could do something important.
“We proved our maturity, showed improvement, and after the game at home to Inter, I thought we really do have a big chance of winning.”
