Manchester City were looking at a potential bid for former Chelsea and Manchester United striker Romelu Lukaku last summer, according to the Daily Telegraph (via the Metro).

The Belgian international has been in excellent form since moving from Old Trafford to Inter Milan in 2019 and the Citizens were seriously considering an offer for the 27-year-old.

However, Inter’s £93.75m asking price is believed to have led to City thinking twice about signing Lukaku and they have opted to wait instead until the end of this season to find a successor to Sergio Aguero.

The Argentine will turn 33 in June, and after a season that has already seen him pick up a hamstring injury, following on from the knee problem that kept him out at the start of the campaign, it has been decided a replacement needs to be found soon.

Benfica’s Darwin Nunez has been identified as a potential option but the Uruguayan international only moved to Portugal from Almeria in September so they may have to look at other alternatives.