'Romelu Lukaku was a good signing for Chelsea'

James Shearman

• Updated: 12 Aug 2022 17:18 CDT
• 3 min read

Tottenham Hotspur head coach Antonio Conte has said that Romelu Lukaku was 'a good signing' for Chelsea, despite his struggles.

The Blues spent a club record £97.5million on Lukaku from Inter Milan last summer, as the missing piece to Thomas Tuchel's puzzle.

But the Belgian scored just eight goals in 26 Premier League appearances, and has been loaned back to Inter for the 2022-23 season.

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Now, ahead of Chelsea's match against Conte's Spurs, the Italian has spoken about his former player; the two worked together at Inter.

Conte mentioned Lukaku's desire to be loved by the fans, which was not the case at Chelsea, and insisted that he is still a top player regardless of last season.

Antonio Conte on Romelu Lukaku

''We are talking about a big amount of money for a player and I think we are talking about a really important striker in the world,'' Conte said on Lukaku.

''But sometimes a situation outside of football happens and I think Romelu lived two years in Milan and he was the king. The fans showed him a lot of passion and I think he’s a guy who needs this. And for this reason, I think he wanted to go back to Milan.

''But, for sure, the signing was a good signing for Chelsea. Then, you know very well there are players that need more time to make an impact. But, for sure, he was a good signing for Chelsea.

''He has the potential to play in the Premier League. I remember very well when he started to play last season, he played really well and you in the media said Lukaku is really strong.

''A lot of things can happen for the confidence to drop. Now it's right for him to play for an important club in Italy to try to get again confidence in himself. But we are talking about a really important, a really good striker.''