Romelu Lukaku returned to Chelsea on Thursday for a reported club record fee of £97.5 million ($135 million) from Inter Milan.
It is almost 10 years to the day that Chelsea brought in Romelu Lukaku as an 18-year-old from Anderlecht. The now 28-year-old made a return to Stamford Bridge to finally fulfill a mission with the club he supported as a boy.
In his first words, Lukaku said, “I’m happy and blessed to be back at this wonderful club,” Lukaku told the Chelsea website. “It’s been a long journey for me: I came here as a kid who had a lot to learn, now I’m coming back with a lot of experience and more mature.”
Lukaku’s first spell at Chelsea saw him failing to find the net in 15 outings in all competitions. He made only one league start in three seasons on their books – a man-of-the-match performance against Blackburn on the final day of 2011/12.
The Belgian striker was instrumental in securing Inter’s first Serie A title for 11 years last season. Over the past two seasons he has hit 47 Serie A goals.
Romelu Lukaku was left devastated by Antonio Conte’s decision to resign and this, combined with the club’s financial problems, were the driving forces in the move.
What made the London club pay club record fee for the striker? UEFA did some digging and published interesting comments of what others say about the Belgian.
Let’s take a look at the comments.
What Others Say About Romelu Lukaku
“He is one of the best strikers in the world. He already had important physical and technical skills but we made him progress even more – his presence in the match, his teamwork and clarity in front of goal.”
Antonio Conte, former Inter coach
“He’s humble. He wants to learn all the time, he wants to improve all the time and the ambition is there.”
José Mourinho, former Manchester United manager
“At the age of 23, I always believed he had the possibility of becoming the best No.9 in world football because he has absolutely everything.”
Roberto Martínez, Belgium coach
Alan Shearer thinks Lukaku can be the difference between Chelsea winning the Premier League or not. Shearer believes has improved since leaving Manchester United for Inter Milan in 2019 – and can now be considered as one of world’s best strikers.
Romelu Lukaku’s Chelsea shirt number revealed
Lukaku has not been fussy about his number in the past. He wore 17 and 10 during his time at Everton before switching to a more traditional nine in each of his past four seasons.
Unfortunately, all three of those numbers are taken with Tammy Abraham wearing 9, Christian Pulisic 10 and Mateo Kovacic 17.
Due to this Lukaku has been forced to take number 18 for the upcoming season.
The news comes via the Premier League website, who ‘leaked’ the forward’s choice before Chelsea officially announced it.