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Romelu Lukaku has confirmed he will wear the Chelsea number nine shirt vacated by Tammy Abraham.
The 28-year-old Belgium hitman, who has returned to Stamford Bridge in a ยฃ98million deal from Inter Milan, was initially handed the number 18 jersey, but jumped at the chance to take the main strikerโs shirt following Abrahamโs ยฃ34million move to Roma.
And the former Everton and Manchester United forward is now excited to become the focal point of the Bluesโ attack and show his leadership qualities.
โYeah I have the number nine shirt, Iโm very happy and very fortunate to be in the situation,โ Lukaku said.
โCesar Azpilicuetaโs the captain, heโs been here for many years, heโs a great captain. When I was in quarantine he was already messaging me, to help about houses and things like that.
โSo in terms of leaders, there are many players that have big personalities in this dressing room.
โIโm one of the players who likes to connect everybody, and make everyone feel comfortable and give them confidence, because those players deserve to be Chelsea players and they showed that last season.
โSo this dressing room has a lot of personality, which is what I like.
โItโs good to be back. As a footballer, you fight to achieve your dreams. Iโm here now and I canโt wait to get on the pitch and perform with my team-mates.โ
Champions League winners Chelsea started the campaign with a commanding 3-0 win over Crystal Palace, and will head to Arsenal on Sunday brimming with confidence.
Lukakuโs arrival will put another spring in the step of Thomas Tuchelโs team, with the marksman confirming he is fit and ready to go at the weekend.
Belgiumโs record goal-scorer spent three years at Chelsea between 2011 and 2014, and has already admitted to some unfinished business on his return to west London as a senior professional.
Now the Anderlecht product accepts he must live up to his reputation, as he realises a long-held ambition to return to the Blues.
โIโve been training pretty much the whole pre-season,โ Lukaku said.
โIโm just trying to help me and my team-mates get better, then at the end of the day Iโm available for the match on Sunday.
โThe dream is reality, so I just have to prove it on the pitch now.
โNow Iโm here itโs time to get to work and focus on working hard.
โI already have a relationship with most of the players. Iโm really happy to be here, and now weโve got to play as a team.
โThe guys are very hungry to keep winning, and training (on Tuesday) had a good intensity. Everyone wants to keep improving.โ
REUTERS