Lyon defender Emerson Palmieri has been discussing former Inter striker Romelu Lukaku and the state of Serie A this season, according to a report in the Italian media.

During an interview with La Gazzetta dello Sport, the Italy international explained that Romelu Lukaku is a very scary striker to play against and that Chelsea are the favourites to beat Juventus in the Champions League group stages next week.

“Tuchel has united the group and brought a strong playing identity. Everyone knows what to do on the pitch.

“Lukaku is really monstrous. In football, anything can happen. but it will be tough. Chelsea are favourites.”

The defender who is on loan at Lyon from Chelsea also talked about how exciting the Serie A title race is this season, and mentioned that Inter are one of the teams that could win it.

“It is the best league, after the Premier League. Maybe it has lost prominent players, but important coaches have arrived, from Sarri to Spalletti, to Mourinho.

“Juve no longer dominates and it is difficult to make predictions. There are many candidates, from AC Milan to Inter, to Atalanta.”

Emerson Palmieri was very heavily linked with a move to Inter early in the summer transfer window because it was felt that Inter needed an improvement on the left hand side.

Chelsea’s asking price was too high for Inter and Napoli so he ended up staying away from Serie A until the late move to Lyon.