Romelu Lukaku reveals key difference between Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Antonio Conte

The Belgian has 23 goals in all competitions in his debut season since joining Inter Milan from Manchester United

Romelu Lukaku has enjoyed his debut season in Italy (REUTERS)

Romelu Lukaku has revealed an increase in intensity from Ole Gunnar Solskjaer to Antonio Conte at Inter Milan has helped reinvigorate his career this season.

The Belgian joined the Nerazzurri last summer from Manchester United for £58.5 million and has since scored 23 goals in all competitions.

Lukaku has helped inspire Antonio Conte’s side to join the Serie A title race alongside Juventus and Lazio, with a nine-point gap to the champions – though Inter have a game in hand.

And the 26-year-old admits he has seen a big difference on the training pitch since arriving in Italy, while also finding an especially close group of players.

“One bad year can happen to everybody in their career. It was just done for me,” Lukaku said in conversation with Ian Wright for his YouTube channel. “It was a difficult situation for myself. I had to make a decision.

Romelu Lukaku has enjoyed his debut season in Italy (REUTERS)

“I had to go somewhere where I can learn other aspects of my game, work with somebody who wanted me. Yes [it bothered me that people were talking about my shape], it got to my head.

“Training is different, here you work hard. They work you hard. Speak to Ashley Young. There’s a lot of difference, here the team is the team, there’s like team bonding, we have two or three team dinners every three weeks, all together, nobody misses out.

“Everybody is there. Sometimes it is one player or two players, they’ll say I want to pay for dinner. We just kept doing it. The team is good, we have quality, but everything is about the team.

“When you see how we play, everybody works, we are the most aggressive team in the league. The manager puts it in us. Be aggressive and press, the physical preparation.”

Conte embraces Lukaku (AFP)

Lukaku is currently in quarantine in Milan due to the coronavirus pandemic, but despite the enforced break between matches, the Belgian dismissed concerns it could impact his form, while also detailing his shock at receiving a “hammering” from Conte after losing a duel on the pitch against Slavia Prague.

“No, the way we play, we create chances regardless, it’s about being the right position,” Lukaku responded defiantly. “Coaches say this, after the game we have video sessions. On Monday we have the first half, then Tuesday the second half. Yes [it’s intense].

“We play with patterns, if you watch us play, you see the patterns all the time. When players are not in the right position, he says, ‘oi, what are you doing?’ In front of everybody. He did it to me after Slavia Prague, there was a guy... Remember [Cesar] Azpilicueta playing centre-back for Chelsea? Imagine the same guy, playing in a back four, he wins a heavy challenge against me and he celebrated it like a goal. He [Conte] spoke about it for five minutes, he hammered me.

“Everybody was looking at me, it was the first time it happened to me in my career, either you react or you go down. I’m 26, I can’t be childish about this. I kept going, then we played AC Milan and we won 2-0 and I scored, playing one of the best games of the season. Mentally I took that step, taking critics in front of everybody.​”