Jose Mourinho would have fared better at
Manchester United had he been given “the players that he wanted”, says Romelu Lukaku, with the Belgian striker still holding the Portuguese within the highest regard.

A £75 million ($98m) transfer took Lukaku to old Trafford during the summer of 2017.

Mourinho had been at the Red Devils helm for twelve months by that time and already invested heavily within the likes of Paul Pogba and Victor Lindelof.

There were, however, regular reports of the United board block moves for supposed targets.

Lukaku feels additional success would have been enjoyed had Mourinho been shown additional support, with the present Tottenham boss still one amongst the best within the business.

The currently inter striker told Sky Sports once discussing the managers who have brought the most effective out of him: “I assume Roberto Martinez, Ronald Koeman and currently Antonio Conte.

I feel Jose Mourinho – if he would have had the players that he wished, he would have done better than what we did.

“Steve Clarke, massive mention to him, because he gave me the chance to play within the Premier League aged nineteen.

“And clearly my 1st coach at Anderlecht , Ariel Jacobs, who gave me the prospect when i’d barely turned sixteen. He called me from college, they called me like, ‘Yo, you have got to come back with the first team’, and he played me immediately.

“Those are the coaches that forever i’ll respect them.

“At the end of the day, i am always an open-minded guy and at the end of the day, as a player, you have got to try and do what your manager asks.

“I’ve never had any problem with any manager I’ve had – it shows my expertise and my willingness to work.”

Having joined United within the middle of Mourinho’s reign, Lukaku departed with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer calling the shots.

The 26-year-old has reiterated that h e took the choice to move on long before a deal was done with inter , with it clear that the Red Devils were heading in a completely different direction.

Lukaku added on his exit from English football: “Last year was troublesome for me on the professional side, as a result of stuff wasn’t going how I wished and that i wasn’t performing as well.

“So I had to find it within myself what was lacking and came to the conclusion that it had been time for me to change surroundings.

“I made my call around March, and that i went to the manager’s office and told him it was time for me to find something else.

“I wasn’t performing and i wasn’t playing. i feel it was better for each side to go separate ways in which. i feel I made the proper call.

“Manchester United has made space for the younger players to come back through so i feel it was a win-win scenario for each folks.”