Ashley Young: Man United were wrong to let Lukaku go

Manchester United were "wrong" to let Romelu Lukaku go in 2019 according to Ashley Young, who has backed his ex-team-mate to thrive at Chelsea after re-signing for the west London outfit.

United spent £75 million ($104m) to sign Lukaku from Everton in 2017, only to sell him to Inter after just two full seasons at Old Trafford.

The Belgium international struggled for consistency during his time with the Red Devils, but scored 64 goals in 85 appearances for the Nerazzurri while helping them win their first Serie A crown in 11 years with Young present in San Siro to witness his return to form.

Young, who left Old Trafford to join Inter in January last year before signing for Aston Villa on a free transfer earlier this summer, believes United were too rash in deciding to offload Lukaku, who he is confident will deliver the goods for Chelsea as they aim to fight for the Premier League title in 2021-22.

“I’m so happy for him,” the former Red Devils full-back told The Guardian. “It was the wrong decision for United to let him go. To join him at Inter and see how well he did there was fantastic.

"I don’t know whether he thinks he has a point to prove [in the Premier League] but I don’t see it like that: his record speaks for itself. He scored a lot of goals at United and everywhere else.

"I hope he does really well at Chelsea – just as long as he doesn’t turn up against Villa!”

Lukaku scored 28 goals across all competitions in his first year at United, but they ultimately finished the 2017-18 campaign without silverware.

The Red Devils' trophyless drought continued the following season too, and the forward fell down the squad pecking order following Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's appointment as manager, adding just 15 more goals to his tally before being shipped off to Inter.

Young went onto express how much he enjoyed his 18-month stint at San Siro, having initially sought a transfer after being told by Solskjaer that he would no longer be a first-team regular in Manchester.

“I never thought the opportunity would come to play abroad but when it did I spoke to Ole [Gunnar Solskjær] and he said I wouldn’t have many chances at United so I went and spoke to [Antonio Conte], who had wanted me when he was at Chelsea," he said.

"Once he said I could play week in, week out rather than be a bit-part player, it was always a go. It definitely worked out. Milan is an unbelievable city to play in and live. I wanted to try to learn the culture and the language and play as much as possible and that’s what I was able to do. Winning the league was the perfect way to top everything off.

'I’m just delighted that on the last day of the season we were able to celebrate with the fans outside the stadium. Now I’m delighted to be back in England at a club I know really well.”