Belgian national team head coach Roberto Martinez is happy to see Romelu Lukaku back at Inter and feels that the striker will look to challenge himself now that he is back in Serie A.

Speaking to Turin-based newspaper Tuttosport in an interview published in today’s print edition, Martinez gave his thoughts on Lukaku’s shock return to the Nerazzurri, which he feels has made the player happy to be back where he feels that he belongs.

Lukaku left Inter just last summer in a move which sent shockwaves through the Nerazzurri, and in a transfer which the player himself never really appeared to be fully convinced was the right next step for him.

The 29-year-old made no secret of the fact that he was not happy with things while he struggled on the pitch with Chelsea, and now he is back at Inter where he will hope to show that last season was just a blip and that he can be up to the task of pushing the Nerazzurri to more trophies.

“When I see a player smiling, I’m happy,” Martinez said. “And I’ve seen Romelu smile a lot in the past few weeks – it can only be a good sign for us.”

Of Lukaku’s failure to kick on at Chelsea, the coach said that “Sometimes things just don’t work out at a club and you can’t live up to expectations. Then a solution has to be found.”

“Inter will be a good challenge for him,” he added. “He left Milan with high expectations in the aftermath of winning the title, I think his return is a great test of his abilities. He needed this.”