Romelu Lukaku: Napoli Star Explains Why He Failed at Chelsea After £97.5M Move
- Chelsea broke their transfer record to sign Romelu Lukaku for £97.5 million from Inter Milan in 2021
- Lukaku failed to live up to expectations and had loans at Inter and AS Roma before joining Napoli in September
- The Belgian has now opened up on why he performed poorly at Stamford Bridge despite the huge transfer fee
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Romelu Lukaku has opened up on his time in England, particularly explaining why he failed twice at Chelsea before joining Napoli permanently last summer.
Chelsea first signed Lukaku in 2011 as an 18-year-old from Belgian club Anderlecht. He failed to nail a spot and was sold permanently to Everton after two loan spells.
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He spent five years in England with Everton and Manchester United before moving to Italy with Inter Milan, where he won the 2020/21 title under Antonio Conte.
As noted by BBC Sports, the Blues paid a club record £97.5 million to sign him for the second time in August 2021, but it only took four months for things to turn upside down after that famous interview.
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Why Lukaku failed at Chelsea
Lukaku went on loans at Inter Milan and AS Roma before leaving Chelsea permanently this summer to reunite with former boss Conte at Napoli for about £30 million.
Speaking to Friends of Sports Podcast, he explained how the mis-profiling of his skill sets and similarity to Didier Drogba did not help him during his time at Stamford Bridge.
“In England, they wanted to put me in a box. They see someone built like me and think he’s the new Drogba, and because Didier did what he did, they think I have to do the same,” he said.
“I’m not like that. Didier was more back to goal, he could hold up the ball no matter where you play it from. That wasn’t my style, Bro.”
“The narratives when I was in England were “he’s lazy, he doesn’t work hard, he’s not a leader, he’s selfish, first, he cannot hold a ball, blah blah blah. I played 2 years at Inter, “his back to goal, he’s the best player in the world, he’s top 5″, he added.
The Blues fans, despite their initial admiration for him, see him as the worst transfer in their club's history, particularly because he came for a lot of money and a high reputation.
Lukaku vs Osimhen in first five Napoli games
Legit.ng analysed how Romelu Lukaku compares to Victor Osimhen in their first five games for Napoli after the Belgian forward surpassed a 20-year record at the club.
Lukaku's haul of seven-goal contributions in his first five games at Estadio Diego Armando Maradona is the highest since 2006 and it surpasses Osimhen's contribution to two goals.
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