Romelu Lukaku rejoins Chelsea in £97.5m deal

Premier League club confirm return of Belgian striker who helped Inter Milan win Serie A last season

THE 20 MOST EXPENSIVE PLAYERS: 1). Romelu Lukaku (€327.56m): Anderlecht to Chelsea €15m / Chelsea to Everton (loan) €3.5m / Chelsea to Everton €35.36m / Everton to Manchester United €84.7m / Manchester United to Inter Milan €74m / Inter Milan to Chelsea €115m

2). Neymar (€310.20m): Santos to Barcelona €88.2m / Barcelona to Paris Saint-Germain €222m

3) .Cristiano Ronaldo (€230m): Sporting Lisbon to Manchester United €19m / Manchester United to Real Madrid €94m / Real Madrid to Juventus €117m

4). Alvaro Morata (€189m): Real Madrid to Juventus €20m / Juventus to Real Madrid €30m / Real Madrid to Chelsea €66m / Chelsea to Atletico Madrid (loan) €18m / Chelsea to Atletico Madrid €35m / Atletico Madrid to Juventus (loan) €20m

5). Angel Di Maria (€179.00m): Rosario to Benfica €8m / Benfica to Real Madrid €33m / Real Madrid to Manchester United €75m / Manchester United to Paris Saint-Germain €63m

6). Antoine Griezmann (€174m): Real Sociedad to Atletico Madrid €54m / Atletico Madrid to Barcelona €120m

7). Ousmane Dembele (€170m): Stade Rennais to Borussia Dortmund €35m / Borussia Dortmund to Barcelona €135m

8). Zlatan Ibrahimovic (€169.10m): Malmo to Ajax €7.8m / Ajax to Juventus €16m / Juventus to Inter Milan €24.8m / Inter Milan to Barcelona €69.5m / Barcelona to AC Milan (loan) €6m / Barcelona to AC Milan €24m / AC Milan to Paris Saint-Germain €21m

9). Philippe Coutinho (€160.3m): Vasco to Inter Milan €3.8m / Inter Milan to Liverpool €13m / Liverpool to Barcelona €135m / Barcelona to Bayern Munich (loan) €8.5m

10). Gonzalo Higuain (€159m): River Plate to Real Madrid €12m / Real Madrid to Napoli €39m / Napoli to Juventus €90m / Juventus to AC Milan (loan) €10.2m / Juventus to Chelsea (loan) €7.8m

11). Eden Hazard (€150m): Lille to Chelsea €35m / Chelsea to Real Madrid €115m

12). Kylian Mbappe (€145m): Monaco to Paris Saint-Germain €145m

13). James Rodriguez (€140.63m): Envigado to Banfield €280k / Banfield to Porto €7.35m / Porto to Monaco €45m / Monaco to Real Madrid €75m / Real Madrid to Bayern Munich (loan) €13m

14). Joao Felix (€127.2m): Benfica to Atletico Madrid €127.2m

15). Hernan Crespo (€126.94m): River Plate to Parma €4.13m / Parma to Lazio €56.81m / Lazio to Inter Milan €40m / Inter Milan to Chelsea €26m

16). Paulinho (€126.86m): GO Audax to Coimbra-MG €635k / Coimbra-MG to Corinthians €5m / Corinthians to Tottenham €19.73m / Tottenham to Guangzhou Evergrande €14.00m / Guangzhou Evergrande to Barcelona €40m / Barcelona to Guangzhou Evergrande (loan) €5.5m / Barcelona to Guangzhou Evergrande €42m

17). Nicolas Anelka (€123.85m): Paris Saint-Germain to Arsenal €760k / Arsenal to Real Madrid €35m / Real Madrid to Paris Saint-Germain €34.5m / Paris Saint-Germain to Liverpool (loan) €1.4m / Paris Saint-Germain to Manchester City €15m / Manchester City to Fenerbahce €7.19m / Fenerbahce to Bolton €12m / Bolton to Chelsea €18m

18). Luis Suarez (€123.52m): Nacional to Groningen €800k / Groningen to Ajax €7.5m / Ajax to Liverpool €26.5m / Liverpool to Barcelona €81.72m / Barcelona to Atletico Madrid €7m

19). Juan Sebastian Veron (€121m): Estudiantes to Boca Juniors €1.20m / Boca Juniors to Sampdoria €5.7m / Sampdoria to Parma €17.5m / Parma to Lazio €30m / Lazio to Manchester United €42.6m / Manchester United to Chelsea €21.80m / Chelsea to Estudiantes €2.2m

20). Joao Cancelo (€120.40m): Benfica to Valencia €15m / Valencia to Juventus €40.4m / Juventus to Manchester City €65m

Chelsea have completed a £97.5 million ($134.7m) club record deal to bring striker Romelu Lukaku back to the Premier League.

Lukaku has just enjoyed a successful spell in Italy, helping Serie A side Inter Milan win the title last season but has decided the time is right for a return to England.

He left Chelsea to join Everton in 2014 but has now gone back to the London club in a deal just short of the £100m British record fee Manchester City have just paid Aston Villa for Jack Grealish.

It means clubs have spent more money on Lukaku than any other player in history with a combined total of around £290m having being forked out for the Belgium international.

"I'm happy and blessed to be back at this wonderful club," said Lukaku, who has signed a five-year contract. "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.

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

Lukaku was instrumental in securing Inter's first Serie A title for 11 years last season, but the Italian giants financial problems forced them into selling their prized asset to the Premier League side. He scored 64 goals in two seasons in Italy to quickly become a hero at the San Siro.

But the 28-year-old also has a proven record in the Premier League, scoring 113 goals during spells with Manchester United, Everton and West Bromwich Albion.

"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," added Lukaku. "I can't wait to get started and to help the club achieve more success."

After lifting the Champions League last season, Chelsea are hoping Lukaku is the final piece required to make Thomas Tuchel's side Premier League title challengers.

"Lukaku is quite simply one of the world's best strikers and goalscorers," said Chelsea director Marina Granovskaia. "We are absolutely delighted to be bringing him back to the club he loves, and are excited to be adding his talent to our Champions League-winning squad.

"We are of course looking to build on last season's success, and Lukaku will play a big role in achieving our targets."