Chelsea has officially signed Belgian striker Romelu Lukaku to a five-year contract and completed his transfer from Inter Milan, the team announced Thursday. BBC reports Chelsea acquired Lukaku for a club-record fee of £97.5 million (US$135 million).
Welcome home, @RomeluLukaku9. #LukWhosBack pic.twitter.com/P43CAIVqfU
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) August 12, 2021
Lukaku, 28, previously played at Chelsea from 2011 to 2014, but only made 15 appearances in which he failed to score, before leaving to Everton for a £28 million fee.
"I’m happy and blessed to be back at this wonderful club," said Lukaku in a press release. "It’s been a long journey for me: I came here as a kid who had a lot to learn, now I’m coming back with a lot of experience and more mature."
The six-foot-three striker found his world-class form with the Toffees and went on to play for Manchester United from 2017 to 2019 before joining Inter Milan for the 2019-20 season.
Lukaku was a key player in the 2020-21 Serie A-winning Inter Milan side, contributing 24 goals and 11 assists in the league campaign. He became the first Serie A player with at least 20 goals and 10 assists in 15 years.
20/10 - Romelu Lukaku is the only player in the last 15 seasons to score 20+ goals and make 10+ assists in a single Serie A campaign. Coup. pic.twitter.com/u8DN0dF1tr
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) August 12, 2021
Born in Antwerp, Belgium, Lukaku began his senior career with Brussels-based club Anderlecht and has scored 64 goals in 98 games with the Belgian senior men's national team -- including four at Euro 2020.
