Romelu Lukaku: “Playing At Inter Is A Blessing For Me”

Romelu Lukaku described playing for Inter as ‘a blessing’ last night and backed Alexis Sanchez to succeed with the Nerazzurri.

The Belgian scored on his full debut at San Siro as Antonio Conte’s side beat Lecce 4-0 in their first Serie A match of the season.

In a lengthy interview with the BBC, Lukaku discussed his excitement at signing for Inter and reflected on his unsuccessful two years at Manchester United.

He said: “Inter is a club with a big history. It is hungry and wants to improve and do well. I was at a stage where I needed a new challenge. This one came at the right time.

“I call myself a student of the game. I try to watch as many games as possible. The tactical side was the most important thing for me to improve. I am 26 and I want to improve different aspects of my game.

“When I was growing up, Italy had Ronaldo, Adriano and Zlatan Ibrahimovic. They were three players I looked up to as a kid. For me that was really interesting.”

Asked whether Sanchez would succeed upon his return to Italy, Lukaku assured it was a good move for his former United teammate.

“He played in this league before and the people here know him,” he added.

“Coming here was the right move, in a good dressing room, where the manager wants winners who can really help the team. He is going to be part of that.

“He is going to add a lot of competition to the squad we already have. Now it is up to him to show it.

“I really believe he is going to do well for us. We are here to help him out. Hopefully, he can add that little spark to our team.”

Conte was desperate to sign Lukaku this summer, having already tried to recruit the 26-year-old while in charge of Juventus and Chelsea.

“Obviously, he missed out on me when he was at Juve and at Chelsea but right now, it was the right timing and the right circumstances for me,” Lukaku explained.

“I wanted to discover something else, a new challenge and play for a club that is hungry and ambitious to do the right things, with the right manager we have right now.

“I think we have to work hard day in, day out to achieve what we want to do in the end. We are making the right steps to improve.

“Outside that he is a nice man, somebody who is really motivating you, even when you are doing such hard work on the pitch. It is quite good and everybody is working really hard.”

Lukaku joined United for £75 million in 2017 but fell out of favour after Jose Mourinho was replaced by Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.

The striker was at a loss to explain what went wrong in Manchester but wished the Red Devils well for the future.

“I don’t try to look back at it,” he said.

“The way I look at it is that I beat all the odds. Coming from where I came from, growing up the way that I did, I think I beat the odds.

“No-one thought I would do the steps I have in my life as a professional footballer, only me and my family.

“For me, the Manchester United experience is one I am grateful for. It wasn’t a good one because we didn’t win and I wanted to win with the club, but they gave me a chance.

“I got to play for one of the biggest clubs in the world, so I will always be respectful to them. At the end, I thought it was better for me to move on and try different things.

“Now I am on my own path and I am very happy in Serie A.”

Lukaku also denied claims from Solskjaer he was unfit during preseason, sitting out each of United’s friendlies on tour in Australia and Asia.

“I was training by myself for the last couple of weeks in Manchester with one of the physical coaches,” he explained.

“From Singapore until I moved here, I was basically only doing running and not training on the pitch. When I got here they asked me what I had been doing.

“I had not done any group training, only running, so we kept the running part going. They introduced me to the group exercises and then they organised some friendlies and that was it.

“When I arrived, the first four days were about building up the physical aspect, getting as fit as possible for the first game – do a lot of physical work and adapt tactically to what Conte wants on the pitch.

“How we play involves a lot of pressing, being in the right positions. You have to be alert and sharp in training.”