Romelu Lukaku will wear the troubled number nine shirt as he tries to become the final piece in Thomas Tuchel’s Chelsea jigsaw.
The £97.5m arrival from Inter has inherited the shirt worn with great success by previous forwards such as Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink and Gianluca Vialli. Equally, it has weighed heavily on the shoulders of continental stars like Fernando Torres, Hernan Crespo, Alvaro Morata and Gonzalo Higuain.
Lukaku, 28, revealed at a press conference this afternoon: ‘I got the number nine and I am very happy and very fortunate to be in this situation”.
‘It is good to be back. As a footballer you fight to achieve you dreams. I’m here now. I can’t wait to be on the pitch and perform with my teammates.’
Ahead of signing his contract at Chelsea this week, Lukaku admitted that he had spoken to Chelsea legend Didier Drogba about what to expect.
Drogba, a prolific scorer for Chelsea, always wore the number 11 and Lukaku said: ‘Didier said he is really happy with the improvement I made in the last couple of seasons but also said there is more work to be done.
‘I want to achieve the maximum and it’s all about improvement. The last couple of years at Inter have been great but I am hungry to get started here.’
Lukaku – who says he is fit and ready to face Arsenal on Sunday – was at Chelsea between 2011 and 2014 but left for Everton without really making a mark.
At Chelsea this time round, Lukaku will be expected to score the goals that the London club lacked last season.
‘Maturity has been important,’ he said. ‘I think I’ve learned much more about myself, setting higher standards for myself.
‘As a player, it’s been about becoming more complete as the game in Italy is more different. The spaces are tighter, it’s more technical and tactical, and that helped me a lot.
‘The English game is different but for me, it’s not something new. So it’s a case of getting back here and adapting to my teammates and whatever game plan the coach has to help the team.’