Cape Town - Inter Milan forward Romelu Lukaku has revealed that he told Ole Gunnar Solskjaer that he would be leaving Manchester United before the end of last season.

Lukaku joined the Red Devils in July 2017, signing a five-year contract with the option of a further year in a deal worth an initial Pound 75million, and he scored 28 goals from 66 Premier League games.

Despite his good scoring record, the Belgium international often came under criticism during his second season at Old Trafford for not being mobile enough and offering little in his overall play.

The 26-year-old came under fire during a time when United were struggling to compete with the likes of rivals Manchester City and Liverpool, who won their sixth European crown last season.

Lukaku's two-year spell at the club came to an end this summer when he secured a move to Serie A outfit Inter, who forked out a club-record 80m euros to acquire his services.

Since arriving at the San Siro, the Belgian has scored nine goals from 12 league outings and the switch to Italy appears to have done him the world of good.

Discussing his decision to move to Inter and work under Antonio Conte, Lukaku revealed he told United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer of his desire to leave in March.

"Solskjaer has my eternal respect. He understood me when I said in March that it was time for me to leave England," he told Belgian newspaper Het Belang van Limburg.

"The first two weeks at Inter I worked very hard with the group and when my team-mates got some rest, I trained individually."

Lukaku will be back in Serie A action when Inter make the trip to Torino on November 23.

- TEAMTalk