Lukaku crosses paths with Conte after form of his life at Inter

With remarkable timing, Romelu Lukaku will reunite with former Inter coach Antonio Conte just days after complaining about Thomas Tuchel, as Chelsea take on Tottenham Hotspur.

Everyone was waiting for the moment Conte and Lukaku crossed paths again after they both walked away from Inter over the summer, despite winning the club’s first Serie A title in a decade.

It was Conte who by his own admission harassed the Nerazzurri hierarchy into signing Lukaku from Manchester United in 2019 for €74m, having already tried to purchase him at Chelsea.

The Belgium international arrived with a reputation of having potential, but very few technical skills, needing the right tactician to get the best out of him.

Conte certainly did that, along with fitness staff and nutritionists who got Lukaku into the best shape of his entire life.

He scored 64 goals in 95 games for Inter, with 16 assists too, most of those for fellow striker Lautaro Martinez.

When Lukaku complained in his sensational Sky Sport Italia interview that Tuchel’s tactics were not suited to his playing style, it sparked a firestorm of controversy that saw him dropped against Liverpool.

Now with exquisite timing, the striker is welcomed back into the Chelsea team just in time to face Conte and Tottenham Hotspur.

Many in Italy realised his comments were not trying to go for a return to Inter, who have already moved on without him, but rather angling for a potential reunion with Conte at Spurs.