Chelsea confirm return of Lukaku for club record fee

LONDON -- Chelsea have confirmed the signing of Belgian international striker, Romelu Lukaku for a club-record fee of 97.5 million pounds (114.7 million euros) beating the previous club record of 89.7 million euros paid for Kai Havertz a year ago.

Lukaku returns to the club he joined from Anderlecht for the first time as a 17-year-old in 2011, on a five-year deal, seven years after leaving Stamford Bridge to join Everton.

"I'm happy and blessed to be back at this wonderful club. It's been a long journey for me: I came here as a kid who had a lot to learn, now I'm coming back with a lot of experience and more mature," Lukaku told the Chelsea website.

"The relationship I have with this club means so much to me, as you know. I have supported Chelsea as a kid and now to be back and try to help them win more titles is an amazing feeling."

He joins a team that won the Champions League last season and which defeated Villarreal on penalties on Wednesday night to add the European Supercup to their trophy cabinet.

"The way the club is going fits my ambitions perfectly at 28 and just coming off winning Serie A [with Inter]. I think this opportunity comes at the right time and hopefully we can have a lot of success together," added the striker.

Lukaku netted 87 goals for Everton and joined Manchester United in 2017, where he scored 42 goals in his two years at the club before moving to Italy, where last season he netted 24 times to help Inter win Serie A for the first time in 11 years.

"Since I left Chelsea, it's been a long journey with a lot of ups and downs, but these experiences made me strong and the challenge is to try to help the team win some more trophies. I can't wait to get started and to help the club achieve more success," said Lukaku, who could straight into the squad for Chelsea's Premier League opener at home to Crystal Palace on Saturday.