MILAN (Reuters) – Inter Milan coach Simone Inzaghi said he is happy with how Belgian forward Romelu Lukaku is settling back into his surroundings and how his strike force is shaping up ahead of the new Serie A season.
Lukaku joined Chelsea for a second time in his career last August for a reported 97.5 million pounds, penning a five-year deal, but failed to cement a place in Thomas Tuchel’s team, returning to Inter on loan for the new campaign.
The 29-year-old was a player transformed in Milan after leaving Manchester United in August 2019. His 24 league goals helped Inter clinch their first Serie A title in 11 years in 2020-21, with Inzaghi hoping for more of the same.
“He (Lukaku) is going well,” Inzaghi told a news conference held on Friday to look ahead to his side’s season opener at newly-promoted Lecce.
“He’s working well like the other three attacking players. He’s been away one year, he is trying to integrate in the best way but he is not new to Inter. I’m happy with him, (Edin) Dzeko, Lautaro (Martinez) and (Andrea) Correa.
“We chose to focus on these four forwards that I can rely on.”
Inter narrowly missed out on a second successive Scudetto on the final day of last season, with AC Milan taking the crown, but Inzaghi is pleased with the additions to his squad he feels have primed them to mount a title tilt.
“We must aim for the top,” he added. “We have lost (Ivan) Perisic who was very important but he made a different choice.
“We brought Lukaku back and signed valuable players such as (Henrikh) Mkhitaryan, (Andre) Onana, (Raoul) Bellanova and (Kristjan) Asllani who have quality.
“It’s great to have two goalkeepers like (Samir) Handanovic and Onana, who has settled in well. He is a smart guy and will have his chances. He is a very important option for the staff and me.”
Inzaghi also revealed that Croatian midfielder Marcelo Brozovic could start against Lecce on Saturday after working back to full fitness, but defender Stefan de Vrij is out.
(Reporting by Peter Hall; Editing by Toby Chopra)
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