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Romelu Lukaku Says Training at Inter Milan 'Real Work' Compared to England
August 13, 2019
Romelu Lukaku has said training at Inter Milan is "different" than it was in England after his move from Manchester United to the San Siro.
Lukaku joined the Nerazzurri last week for a club-record fee of €80 million (£74 million).
The striker netted four times in his first appearance for the Serie A giants, an 8-0 pre-season friendly win against Serie D side Virtus Bergamo:
But it has clearly not all been easygoing for Lukaku in his first days at Inter as he has said the training is tough in Italy under manager Antonio Conte, per Otro (h/t Football Italia): "It's hard, man. It's different. In England, it's a lot of work, but here it's real work. The city is nice, but I didn't come here to live, I came here to help the team achieve something."
Inter kick off their 2019-20 league campaign with a home clash against Lecce on August 26.
Assuming Lukaku plays, it will be his first league games outside England in the best part of a decade.
The Belgium international left Anderlecht to join Chelsea in 2011 and then spent time on loans at West Bromwich Albion and Everton before joining United for £75 million in 2017.
His goalscoring record with the Manchester giants was not superb, but 28 goals in 66 appearances for the Old Trafford club was a reasonable return.
The 26-year-old's overall record in England over the last few seasons, as well as his recent international record, is enough for Inter and their fans to be excited about what he could add in the coming campaign:
Inter have not properly competed for the Serie A title lately, coming second in 2010-11 after winning four Scudettos starting in 2006.
They have, though, finished fourth the last two seasons, securing themselves UEFA Champions League football.
Under Conte in 2019-20, Inter's aim will be to get back into contention for the league title, which has been monopolised by Juventus over the last eight seasons.