Chelsea complete Romelu Lukaku transfer from Inter Milan — FILE PHOTO: Romelu Lukaku in action during an Inter Milan training session at the club’s training ground Suning Training Center at Appiano Gentile on July 29, 2021 in Como, Italy. (Photo by Mattia Ozbot – Inter/Inter via Getty Images)

Chelsea on Thursday completed the signing of former striker Romelu Lukaku from Inter Milan for £97.5m (€115m).

Lukaku leaves the Serie A defending champions after just two years, having joined Inter Milan in August 2019 for a club record fee of 80m euros (£74m).

“I’m happy and blessed to be back at this wonderful club,” said Lukaku after his Chelsea unveiling. “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 scored 24 goals for Inter Milan last season, helping them to their first Scudetto in 11 years.

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FILE: Chelsea’s Argentinian head coach Mauricio Pochettino reacts during the English Premier League football match between Chelsea and Wolverhampton Wanderers at Stamford Bridge in London on February 4, 2024. (Photo by Ben Stansall / AFP) /

Only Juventus’ forward Cristiano Ronaldo scored more in the league.

Lukaku expressed his delight at returning to Stamford Bridge, noting that the club fits his ambitions.

“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,” he said.

The Belgian’s transfer to Chelsea makes him the most expensive player in history in terms of accumulated transfer fees, standing at £308.5m – over £30m more than Brazilian Neymar in second (£271.7m).