The Belgian striker, who re-joined Chelsea from Inter Milan, inspired the Blues to a 2-0 victory at Arsenal on his second debut.
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Chelsea’s new summer signing Romelu Lukaku has revealed that he left Inter Milan only because of what Chelsea means to him. The 28-year-old striker, who previously played for Manchester United, made the move to Italy in 2019 after a difficult final few months at Old Trafford. It did not take long for the Belgian striker to rediscover his goal scoring form at San Siro. His 64 goals in 95 appearances helped Inter win their first Serie A title in 11 years. Lukaku’s brilliant performances in Italy earned him a return to Stamford Bridge.
“I was only going to leave Inter Milan for Chelsea,” Romelu Lukaku told HLN. “Kids love Real Madrid, Barcelona, Manchester United. And Chelsea for me, everyone knows what Chelsea means to me. If they ask me, why would I say no? I only realised that Chelsea was serious at the third offer. So it was €100m (£85m), then it was €105m (£90m), and then it went to €110m (£94m). Then I knew, this is truly serious.
“I was in a deep hole at Man United. I didn’t want to go behind Inter’s back. So after training I went to [Inter boss Simone] Inzaghi’s office. I didn’t want to ruin the atmosphere because I was no longer with my head in Milan. So I asked him: please find an agreement.”
Romelu Lukaku, who earlier joined Chelsea in 2011, never really got the chance to showcase his ability at Stamford Bridge in his first stint. He went on loan to West Brom and Everton, where he secured a permanent move in 2014. Later, he played for Manchester United and Inter Milan before re-joining the London club 10 years later. The Belgian had no trouble in settling down, as he scored on his second debut against Arsenal in August.
The 28-year-old further believes that manager Thomas Tuchel’s style of play suits his game. “The first two training sessions, that intensity was so high that the first two or three days I had a bit of a scare,” Romelu Lukaku said. “But two days before the match we had a training session where I scored two goals and I thought yes.
“The team is looking good, the coach is looking good, I love the system that we play because it’s the same system as here [with Belgium], only the emphasis is different. For me it’s fantastic because I play in a team that dominates.”
After completing his move to Chelsea for the second time, the Belgian striker had earlier explained why he was keen to work with Tuchel. “What I really like about him is that for every game there is a different game-plan,” Romelu Lukaku was quoted by Chelsea’s official website as saying.
“Training sessions are always with the goal of trying to prepare the team for the game at the weekend and that’s what I love about him. I told him in the first conversation that we had: “I tried to figure out what you are trying to do with the team but I’ve never figured it out because every game was different” and that’s what I like, because I look at the game from a tactical point of view.
“I want to know what a team is doing, and that’s what really intrigued me to become a player for him because he is a manager who is tactically very strong.”
