Lukaku talks about how he improved in Italy and why he wanted to return to Chelsea

Belgian striker Romelu Lukaku, who has returned to Chelsea where he transferred from Inter Milan for a record fee, spoke in an interview about how Italy has helped his career and why he returned to Chelsea in England.

Romelu Lukaku mentioned that he was a big Chelsea fan when he was a kid and his role models included Thierry Henry of Arsenal and especially Didier Drogba, the Chelsea legend.

“He is a winner in every way, he won what he could. And that’s what I want to achieve at the same club,” he said of his role model.

At 18, Lukaku fulfilled a childhood dream and moved to Chelsea. However, his career there didn’t work out to his liking, and he didn’t end up staying at the club. He went through Everton, Manchester United and Inter Milan before returning to his favourite team.

He was disappointed to leave Chelsea because he couldn’t stay at the club he supported. However, this motivated him to work harder on himself. It was only Antonio Conte in Italy that helped him the most.

“It was ten years of hard work, there were a lot of ups but also downs, but in the end it ended well. I improved a lot in my technical work. Conte has helped me in playing with my back to goal, I never practiced that before, I was always rushing forward.

Thanks to the new system I was getting more assists, before I was just scoring goals. Tactically, I’m looking at the game in a completely different way. I watch the other players’ movements. I’m noticing the runs from my teammates, I’m distributing passes, I’m dropping balls for them.”

The manager of the Belgian national team helped him to take the next step in his career. In the absence of Eden Hazard and Jan Vertonghen, it was Lukaku who was given the captain’s armband.

The next step Lukaku wants to take is to record success with Chelsea. He has returned to his beloved club, coming as a loan signing for a record amount of money. Now he must prove that he is indeed a star.

“Now is the right time. I’m much more mature, I’m aware of more important things. I have a lot more responsibility now. I have to prove myself on the field and do my job. I know I’m ready.

I’m well motivated to show what I can do. I can help my team. Italy helped me to improve mentally and physically. I can’t wait. I have improved, Chelsea have improved, the whole Premier League has improved.”

Lukaku knows he has a big challenge ahead of him but says he is ready. He’s eager to become a legend at his favourite club, so we’ll see how he fares. He can show his qualities this Sunday in the match against Arsenal.

SkySports