Revealed: Romelu Lukaku video call persuaded new Man City signing Jeremy Doku to snub Chelsea during his time with Anderlecht

• Chelsea wanted new Man City star Doku
• Lukaku stopped the move
• Doku joined Man City this summer

WHAT HAPPENED? Doku, who joined Manchester City during the summer transfer window, was approached by several Premier League clubs including Chelsea six years ago when he was 15 and was part of Anderlecht's youth system.

Doku had initially planned to leave the Belgian side and head to the Blues but a phone call from Romelu Lukaku convinced the teenager to stay back and snub Chelsea's offer as revealed by Anderlecht's academy director Jean Kindermans.

WHAT THEY SAID: Speaking to Sunday Mirror via the Evening Standard, Kindermans said, "I remember taking Romelu into my office about the problem of getting young players to commit to us – Doku in particular. Romelu replied, ‘Come on, pass your phone to me, I’m going to call him’.

"I still have the video on my phone. On it, you can hear Romelu giving advice to the Doku's family, saying ‘Hey, guys, stay with Anderlecht for a while, you’re good’ and so on."

THE BIGGER PICTURE: Lukaku himself left Anderlecht to join Chelsea at the age of 18 in 2011 but due to lack of game time, he was loaned out to Everton where he launched his career.

IN THREE PHOTOS:

Getty Images

Getty

Getty Images

WHAT NEXT? Lukaku will be next seen in action for Belgium against Estonia in a Euro 2024 qualifying game on September 12.