Lukaku admits to Man Utd struggles after defending Inter Milan exit

“If they ask me, why would I say no? I only realised that Chelsea was serious at the third offer. So it was €100m (£85m), then it was €105m (£90m), and then it went to €110m (£94m). Then I knew, this is truly serious.

“I was in a deep hole at Man United. I didn’t want to go behind Inter’s back.

“So after training I went to [Inter boss Simone] Inzaghi’s office. I didn’t want to ruin the atmosphere because I was no longer with my head in Milan. So I asked him: please find an agreement.”

Lukaku originally joined Chelsea in 2011 at just 18 years of age but after one season was shipped out on loan to West Brom and then Everton, where he secured a permanent move in 2014.

Having rejoined the club 10 years later, the 28-year-old has settled in quickly and scored on his second debut against Arsenal in August, and is adamant Thomas Tuchel’s style of play suits his game.

“The first two training sessions, that intensity was so high that the first two or three days I had a bit of a scare,” Lukaku said. “But two days before the match we had a training session where I scored two goals and I thought yes.

“The team is looking good, the coach is looking good, I love the system that we play because it’s the same system as here [with Belgium], only the emphasis is different. For me it’s fantastic because I play in a team that dominates.”