Yannick Bolasie admitted that Romelu Lukaku advised him not to join Aston Villa last summer. The Everton winger was recovering from a lengthy injury and opted to join the Midlands outfit on loan for the season. However, he cut his move short after struggling for form and opted for Anderlecht in January.
The winger said in an interview with Het Nieuwsblad (h/t Sport Witness): “(Lukaku) said last summer that I should not go to Aston Villa and I did it anyway. Rom is indeed a good friend and neighbour – he lives on the other side of the street. In our short period together at Everton we blindly understood each other on the field.”
Bolasie ruptured his cruciate ligament midway through his debut season (against Manchester United on December 4, 2016) at Everton and it kept him out of action until December 26, 2017. The 29-year-old made 13 Premier League appearances in his first campaign at Goodison Park and 16 the following season.
With no guarantee from his manager over playing time in 2018/19, Bolasie moved to Villa on loan to get first-team football. He made 21 Championship appearances under Steve Bruce and Dean Smith, scoring just two goals, but his performances were an issue.
Bolasie struggled to make an impact in games and cut the loan short to join Anderlecht for the second-half of the season. He’s since scored three goals in four games for the Belgian Jupiler Pro League outfit.
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