… as Rudiger welcomes ‘beast’ Lukaku
CHELSEA defender Antonio Rudiger has described Romelu Lukaku as a beast ahead of his return to the club this summer.
The Inter Milan striker is expected to complete a move back to Stamford Bridge this week in a clubrecord deal.
Lukaku has passed his medical ahead of his blockbuster £97 million (RM533m) transfer to the club he departed in 2014.
After a disappointing first stint with the Blues, making just 15 appearances in three years since joining from RSC Anderlecht in 2011, Lukaku has flourished into one of Europe’s most prolific goalscorers.
The 28-year-old netted 87 goals in 166 appearances for Everton before sealing a £75m (RM412m) move to Manchester United in 2017 – actually snubbing a return to Chelsea in the process.
He scored 42 times in 96 games for the Red Devils before leaving for Inter after just two seasons.
Last season, he helped the Nerazzurri to their first
Scudetto in 11 years, scoring 24 Serie A goals under Antonio Conte.
Speaking ahead of this morning’s Super Cup clash against Villarreal, the media asked Rudiger about Lukaku’s prospective return.
In response, he said: “You can see in his body type that he is a beast.
“He’s someone who is very strong and I think also he showed it in Italy over the past two years. He did very well over there. Also for his national team. He’s a goalscorer and for me a top striker.
“I cannot talk about someone who is not a Chelsea player because I don’t know anything. I think I said everything about him about his strengths and that he is a top-class striker who loves to score goals.” –
Express Newspapers striker and 28-year-old Belgium forward Romelu Lukaku, who is finalising a move to Chelsea.
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TOTTENHAM,