Romelu Lukaku took in just 15 goalless appearances for Chelsea during his first spell at Stamford Bridge, but the Belgium international claims that “painful and helpful” experience helped to turn him into “the complete package”.
The 28-year-old striker returned to west London over the summer, 10 years on from first being snapped up by the Blues as a highly-rated teenager.
He failed to make the expected impact with the Premier League heavyweights, but is back a decade later as one of the most fearsome and prolific goalscorers on the planet – with important lessons learned from a testing start to life on the grandest of stages.
Lukaku told Chelsea’s official website of his first stint with the club, which saw him acquired in 2011 before being loaned out to West Brom and Everton: “It was painful and helpful, but I would say more helpful because it gave me the mentality and the mindset that I needed to become the player I am today.
“The team was very good but nobody saw the extra work they did after the training sessions. As an 18-year-old, I saw first-hand every day how much the players worked on their craft.
“That’s when I knew that was what you had to do to become this type of player. I told myself ‘when I’m not playing, this is what I’m going to do’, and it basically just became a lifestyle.”