Inter boss Conte aims dig at Man Utd over Lukaku sale

Antonio Conte believes he has landed a bargain in Romelu Lukaku after the Belgian scored on his Inter Milan debut.

The Belgian notched his first goal for the Nerazzurri as they opened up their Serie A campaign with a comfortable 4-0 win over Lecce on Monday night.

Lukaku, who joined from Manchester United for an initial £58million over the summer, played the full 90 minutes and impressed.

Speaking post-game, Conte said: “Let’s not forget Lukaku cost €65million to be paid over five years, so when people talk about big money spent, it wasn’t even that much.

“Tonight, Lukaku showed why we tried so hard to sign him.”

Conte had been desperate to replace Diego Costa with Lukaku while in charge at Chelsea, only for the striker to head to Old Trafford, while the Blues landed Alvaro Morata instead.

However, Conte is now banking on Lukaku to spearhead an assault on Serie title this season, as Inter look to end Juventus’ dominance in Italy.

He insists that Lukaku will thrive in Italian football and that the Belgian still hasn’t reached his peak.

Conte added: “Let’s not forget he is only 26, he’s got a potential we can work on a lot; I believe that despite the fact he arrived late, we tried to work and he made himself available with great effort.

“Today already Romelu showed what kind of a player he is. And why the club insisted on getting this kind of player. But I am very happy, I knew him as a player, but from a human perspective, I didn’t know him. It was a pleasing discovery.

“He really integrated into the team with humility, he made himself available to the team-mates, and everybody loves him.

“He’s just 26, has margins for improvement, he’s got to work.

“He must take advantage even more of the skills he has, because in my opinion he’s got skills that he hasn’t shown yet, he hasn’t shown everything yet, in his football career.”

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