According to The Guardian, Romelu Lukaku is set to have his medical with Manchester United in Los Angeles, California.

The Belgian has been told he could stay out on the west coast of the United States as the United team will soon travel there. The Red Devils will begin their 2017 summer tour in Los Angeles when they play the LA Galaxy on July 15.

Big-time money

Reports have said that the fee United will pay Everton for the Belgian striker is around £75million. If that is the fee United are set to pay, that would make Lukaku’s move the fifth most-expensive in the history of football. Last year, Paul Pogba’s move back to United was the most-expensive move ever at £89.3million.

Lukaku would be the second most-expensive striker ever. Only Gonzalo Higuain’s move from Napoli to Juventus was worth more at £75.3million. When the move goes through, United will have two of the five most expensive transfers.

Goalscoring prowess

After Zlatan Ibrahimović’s contract expired this June, United are in dire need of an elite goalscorer, and Lukaku would quickly solve their problems. The Swede scored 28 goals in all competitions last season and would have scored more had it not been for a horrific knee ligament injury against Anderlecht which prematurely ended his season.

Since the 2012-13 season, the 24-year-old Lukaku has scored the second-most goals in the Premier League (85), only trailing Sergio Agüero who has 99. Last year, Lukaku had his highest Premier League tally in terms of goals, netting 25 and finishing second in the race for the Golden Boot behind Harry Kane.

Lukaku will likely become the first-choice penalty taker at United, with Ibrahimović gone and captain Wayne Rooney likely on the way out. This will likely see his goalscoring tally shoot up even higher than what it has been in past seasons. At Everton, Lukaku was the second-choice penalty taker behind left-back Leighton Baines.

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About the author
Noel John Alberto
Filipino-American sports journalist from Toms River, NJ. UMBC Graduate and aspiring physical therapist. Tennis editor and multi-sport coordinator for VAVEL USA. Writer for Manchester United, Real Madrid, and Serie A sections of VAVEL UK. Sports aficionado. Host of the On The Line tennis podcast.