Ryan Giggs claims players wanting to leave Manchester United is “nothing new”, with Romelu Lukaku allowed to link up with Inter as he no longer figured prominently in Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s plans.
The Red Devils sanctioned the €80 million (£74m/$90m) sale of a Belgium international striker on transfer deadline day.
An agreement with Serie A giants Inter brought a long-running saga to a close, with Lukaku having made it clear that he wanted a new challenge.
United were happy to bow to those wishes as it had become apparent that they would be favouring other options in the 2019-20 campaign.
Lukaku is not the first high-profile figure have been moved out of Old Trafford, and will not be the last, with club legend Giggs eager to point out that change is essential in order for an underperforming side to rediscover its spark.
He told PA Sport: “With Lukaku, with the way Ole has looked to play, with Anthony Martial up front, with Marcus Rashford and Mason Greenwood and he has probably looked at it and gone ‘maybe I am not going to get a lot of games out of him’.
“He is not the sort of player who can come in and out. He is either a player who starts and plays all the games, and he will score goals, but he is not a player to come in and out.
“I think Ole has looked at that and probably Lukaku has looked at that.
“But over the years players have wanted to leave, I don’t think it is anything new. It is more highlighted now because United aren't doing as well as they did 10-15 years ago.”
Giggs is the latest in a long line of United legends to have suggested that Lukaku was always going to struggle to be the attacking focal point the Red Devils are crying out for.
Gary Neville has questioned the 26-year-old’s weight and attitude, while brother Phil claims the burly frontman was never the right fit for the footballing philosophies at Old Trafford.
He said: “I’ll be honest with you, I never felt as if he was a United centre forward. That was my feeling.
“But he started well, then obviously he lost a little bit of confidence and then found it difficult to get back up to form.
“I think there was always that feeling of was he fit enough? And was his style suited to playing football for Manchester United? That was my question.
“He’ll always score goals wherever he goes. He’ll score goals for Inter.
“But the way you want to play, you’ve got to fit the right people on the bus and Romelu Lukaku was never that person.”