Reports: Manchester United Reject Inter Milan's £54M Bid for Romelu Lukaku

Inter Milan have been rebuffed in their attempts to sign Romelu Lukaku after Manchester United rejected a bid worth around £54 million (€60 million) for the striker.

BBC Sport's Simon Stone confirmed the Red Devils' stance and said "the bid falls well below United's valuation."

Meanwhile, Kaveh Solhekol of Sky Sports News has urged Inter to look elsewhere for reinforcements:

Inter boss Antonio Conte will be disappointed by the knock-back after he described how long he's wanted to sign the Belgium international, per Stone: "You know I like this player. When I was Chelsea's coach (from 2016 to 2018), I tried to bring him to Chelsea."

The Nerazzurri's ability to land Conte's prime target will likely hinge on offloading Mauro Icardi. He was sent back from Inter's pre-season training camp Lugano and omitted from the club's tour of Asia.

Icardi has been linked with a move to Serie A rivals Juventus during this summer's transfer window, as AS' Jaime Candil and Jonathan Meaney noted.

Lukaku makes sense as a replacement for Icardi given his power, pace and ability to bully defenders in the air. There have been only sporadic glimpses of those qualities since he left Everton for Old Trafford in a deal worth £75 million back in 2017.

Given what they paid for Lukaku, United are right to demand more than the cash Inter have stumped up. Taking a significant loss on the striker makes little sense, even if the Red Devils are hardly short of other options to lead the line.

Anthony Martial and Alexis Sanchez are both legitimate match-winners when on form. Meanwhile, Marcus Rashford recently signed a new four-year contract paying him £250,000 per week, a sum reflecting United's considerable faith in the England international.

Similar faith is not being shown in Lukaku, with him starting just 22 games in the Premier League last season.

Lukaku still netted 12 times and some would argue United would be making a mistake letting the 26-year-old go:

United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer had "no more updates" when asked about Lukaku's future recently, per Stone. However, it seems increasingly likely the centre-forward will be allowed to leave if any club is prepared to meet what is surely a substantial asking price much closer to what United paid.