ROMELU LUKAKU

INTER MILAN GAMES: 44 GOALS: 30

Inter Milan finally won the Serie A after 11 years and Romelu Lukaku, with 24 league goals, was the driving force in the Nerazzurri’s campaign to end Juventus’ prolonged domination in Italy.

After rising to prominence during his time with Merseyside club Everton, Lukaku became the most expensive striker in English Premier League history when Manchester United signed him for £75 million in July 2017. However, his career with the Red Devils never took o, and his inconsistency did not allow him to cement his name in the squad, which led to his eventual sale to Inter.

Those days are far behind him now as over two seasons with Inter, Lukaku has not only established himself as a permanent xture in the squad, but his partnership with Argentine forward Lautaro Martinez in front of goal has also allowed the club to win its 19th league title in style.

Lukaku did not take time to settle down at Inter as he scored 34 goals in 51 appearances during his rst season under manager Antonio Conte, whose 352 formation has allowed the Belgian striker to develop a lethal partnership with Martinez.

However, the biggest criticism of Lukaku has been his inability to perform in “big games.” During his time with Manchester United, he managed just one goal and four assists in 16 starts against the other “Big Six” clubs of the Premier League — Manchester City, Chelsea, Liverpool, Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur. During his rst season with Inter, Lukaku was plagued by the same problem as he performed below par in major games, most notably in Inter’s Europa League nal against Sevilla.

This season, the Belgian has improved majorly on that front, having scored seven goals in 12 starts against Inter’s six main rivals — AC Milan, Atalanta, Juventus, Napoli, Lazio and Roma.

In addition to his 24 goals in the league this season, Lukaku has shown great aptitude in assisting his teammates as well, with 11 assists to his name.