It’s hard not to feel for Lecce, the club from the heel of Italy, as they prepare for another season in Serie A, the division they have been relegated from twice in the past decade.
They were champions of Serie B in May, but have spent the least of any promoted club in fortifying the squad. And the fixture list has been merciless.
On Saturday, Internazionale will make the long trip south for match day one. Up against Lecce, fitness permitting, will be Romelu Lukaku, the centre-forward for whom more has been paid in total career transfer fees than any footballer in history.
Three seasons ago, following his €80 million move from Manchester United, he made his Serie A debut against Lecce. He scored the third goal in a 4-0 win. Over the next two seasons, Lukaku added a further 63 Inter goals in 94 appearances.
Those are the numbers Inter are looking for from Lukaku’s return, on loan from Chelsea, after his dispiriting, marginalised nine months in London. While he was away, Inter failed to defend their league title, conceding it to neighbours AC Milan after a compelling joust for the scudetto was settled on the last day.
Lukaku, who had joined Chelsea for over €100m, can barely conceal his delight at being back in Italy. “It’s like coming home,” he said at the prospect of reuniting with colleagues who formed the backbone of the 2020/21 Italian champions and reviving a celebrated striking partnership with Lautaro Martinez, the so-called ‘LuLa’ alliance.
Lukaku surveys a division in which several of his former combatants have moved on. There will be no muscular duels with Giorgio Chiellini, the veteran whose departure from Juventus for an end-of-career postscript in Los Angeles marks the end of an epoch.
Juve have sold Matthijs de Ligt, the Dutch defender, to Bayern Munich and although Gleison Bremer, the Brazilian signed from Torino, is an accomplished centre-back, he cannot expect much patience from Juve supporters anxious for standards to be raised quickly. Juventus, Serie A winners in every season between 2012 and 2020, are coming off successive fourth-placed finishes.
Like Inter with Lukaku, Juve have sought out a leader from the past to help them again walk the walk of champions. Paul Pogba, who left Italy for Manchester United for a similar fee to that paid by Chelsea for Lukaku, has come back for free, though his vast salary will feel that bit heavier during the seven or eight matches he is to miss before his second debut for the club.
Lukaku's career in pictures
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Romelu Lukaku celebrates after scoring for Chelsea against Aston Villa during the 2021/22 season when the Belgian finished with 14 goals from 44 games in all competitions. EPA -
Romelu Lukaku scores from the penalty spot for Chelsea against Wolves in the Premier League, in May 2022. EPA -
Romelu Lukaku celebrates scoring for Chelsea against Wolves. Getty -
Chelsea's Romelu Lukaku scores against Arsenal during the Premier League match in August 2021. Getty -
A fan holds up a sign at Stamford Bridge during the game between Chelsea and Aston Villa in September 2021. Getty -
Romelu Lukaku in August 2021 after completing his move back to Chelsea. Getty -
Romelu Lukaku, pictured with his Inter Milan manager Antonio Conte, scored 64 goals in 95 games for the Serie A club. AP -
Inter Milan's Romelu Lukaku shoots at goal during the Serie A match against Parma in March 2021. AFP -
Romelu Lukaku scores from the spot for Inter Milan during the Serie A game against Spezia in December 2020. Reuters -
Romelu Lukaku celebrates scoring for Inter Milan during their Serie A match against Torino in November 2020. Reuters -
Inter Milan's Romelu Lukaku celebrates after the Serie A match against AC Milan in February 2020. Reuters -
Romelu Lukaku scored 42 goals in 96 games for Manchester United. AFP -
Romelu Lukaku scores for Manchester United during the Premier League game at Burnley in September 2018. Reuters -
Romelu Lukaku with Paul Pogba during his spell at Manchester United. Reuters -
Romelu Lukaku scored 87 in 166 games for Everton. PA -
Romelu Lukaku during his loan spell at Everton from Chelsea for the 2013/14 season. AFP -
Everton’s Romelu Lukaku scores against Aston Villa in the Premier League. Reuters -
Everton's Romelu Lukaku in action against Manchester United, the team he would end up joining. Getty -
Romelu Lukaku celebrates after Leicester City's Matthew Upson scored an own goal against Everton during a 2-2 Premier League draw in February 2015. Getty -
Romelu Lukaku during his loan spell at West Bromwich Albion from Chelsea when he scored 17 goals in 38 games in the 2012/13 season. -
Romelu Lukaku celebrates scoring while on loan at West Bromwich Albion. -
Romelu Lukaku shoots at goal for Chelsea during a Premier League game against Aston Villa in August 2013. AFP -
Romelu Lukaku made 15 appearances for Chelsea during his first spell without scoring. AFP -
Romelu Lukaku scores for Anderlecht in a Europa League game against Athletic Bilbao in February 2010. Lukaku scored 41 goals in 98 games for the Belgian club. AFP -
Anderlecht's Romelu Lukaku celebrates after scoring against Athletic Bilbao during the Europa League match in 2010. AFP
Pogba picked up a knee injury in practice and by the time he is fit for action, he will note that Juventus have been busy around him. Besides Chiellini and De Ligt, Paulo Dybala has departed. Into Juve’s creative hub come Angel di Maria, and, subject to final details being agreed, Filip Kostic. Memphis Depay, who Barcelona are pushing to sell, may join them.
Dybala’s choice of Roma as his destination boosts optimism in the capital that a sustained Serie A challenge is possible. In Jose Mourinho’s first year as their head coach, Roma broke a long trophy drought by winning the inaugural Europa Conference League.
They fell short of the target set to Mourinho by finishing only sixth in Italy’s top division. Dybala, Nemanja Matic and Gini Wijnaldum, the summer additions, now add pedigree to the squad, while Tammy Abraham will be keen to remind Lukaku that there is more than one former Chelsea striker who finds Italian football very much to his liking.
Most centre-forwards outside Napoli will welcome the fact that Kalidou Koulibaly is no longer going to be marking them at the San Paulo. In Naples there is concern that Koulibaly’s sale to Chelsea was part of a procession. Fellow legends of the club, Lorenzo Insigne and Dries Mertens have also said farewell.
“It will be a strange season,” admits Luciano Spalletti, the Napoli head coach, “and I sense some scepticism about us.”
Napoli have finished in the top three seven times in the past 10 seasons. The sceptics wonder if they can be relied on to maintain that standard.
AC Milan, who kick off the season at home to Udinese on Saturday, have been shorn of key contributors to their title.
Franck Kessie leaves a hole in midfield, and although Zlatan Ibrahimovic has extended his Peter Pan career by signing a new contract, the 40-year-old Swede is recuperating from an injury that will keep him out until the new year.
But the capture of the young forward, Charles de Ketelaere, from Bruges, excites milanisti. De Ketelaere will be keen to remind compatriot Lukaku there is now more than one Belgian star in the city of Milan.
The biggest summer transfers
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Perr Schuurs - Ajax to Torino (£8m). AFP -
Paco Alcacer - Villarreal to Sharjah (loan). Getty Images -
Matheus Nunes - Sporting to Wolves (£38m). AFP -
Tanguy Nianzou - Bayern Munich to Sevilla (£16.9m). AFP -
Alan Virginius - Sochaux to Lille (£3.8m). AFP -
Thilo Kehrer - PSG to West Ham (£10.1m). Getty Images -
Pervis Estupinan - Villarreal to Brighton (£15.1m). Getty Images -
Destiny Udogie - Udinese to Tottenham (£15.1m). Loaned back to Udinese. Reuters -
Sergio Gomez - Anderlecht to Manchester City (£11m). Photo: Manchester City -
Alex Collado - Barcelona to Elche (loan). AFP -
Remo Freuler - Atalanta to Nottingham Forest (£9m). AP -
Marc Bartra - Real Betis to Tranbzonspor (undisclosed fee). Getty Images -
Giovani Lo Celso - Tottenham to Villarreal (loan). Getty Images -
Cheikhou Kouyate - Crystal Palace to Nottingham Forest (free). Getty Images -
Emmanuel Dennis - Watford to Nottingham Forest (£20m). Getty Images -
Nico González - Barcelona to Valencia (loan). AP Photo -
Luca Pellegrini - Juventus to Eintracht Frankfurt (loan). AFP -
Daniel Wass - Atletico Madrid to Brondby (£1.7m). EPA -
Pablo Marí - Arsenal to Monza (loan). AP -
Dries Mertens - Napoli to Galatasaray (free). AFP -
Jordan Veretout - Roma to Marseille (£9.3m). Reuters -
Christian Benteke - Crystal Palace to DC United (undisclosed fee). AFP -
Maxwell Cornet - West Ham United to Burnley (£17.5m). PA -
Georginio Wijnaldum - PSG to Roma (loan). AFP -
Lucas Torreira - Arsenal to Galatasaray (£5m). AFP -
Marc Cucurella - Brighton to Chelsea (£55m). Getty Images -
Ademola Lookman - RB Leipzig to Atalanta (£12.6m). PA via AP -
Renato Sanches - Lille to Paris Saint-Germain (£12.6m). AFP -
Riqui Puig - Barcelona to LA Galaxy (free). AP Photo -
Alex Telles - Manchester United to Sevilla (loan). AFP -
Carney Chukwuemeka - Aston Villa to Chelsea (£20m). Reuters -
Kasper Schmeichel - Leicester City to Nice (£1m). AFP -
Mattia Viti - Empoli to Nice (£10.9m). AFP -
Gabriel Slonina - Chicago Fire to Chelsea (£8.3m). Reuters -
Bernd Leno - Arsenal to Fulham (£3m). AFP -
Charles De Ketelaere - Club Brugge to AC Milan (£26.8m). AFP -
Joe Rodon - Tottenham to Stade Rennais (loan). AFP -
Borja Mayoral - Real Madrid to Getafe (£8.4m). EPA -
Cesc Fabregas - Monaco to Como (free). EPA -
Alexis Beka Beaka - Lokomotiv Moscow to Nice (£11.7m). AFP -
Marcus Tavernier -Middlesbrough to Bournemouth (£10m). Getty Images -
Aaron Ramsey - Juventus to Nice (free). AFP -
Orel Mangala - Stuttgart to Nottingham Forest (£12.7m). AFP -
David Raum - Hoffenheim to RB Leipzig (£21.8m). Getty Images -
Oscar Mingueza - Barcelona to Celta Vigo (£2.5m). Getty Images -
Jules Kounde - Sevilla to Barcelona (£45m). AFP -
Dwight McNeil - Burnley to Everton (£20m). Getty Images -
Arnaud Kalimuendo - PSG to Rennes (£21m). Getty Images -
Filip Kostic - Eintracht Frankfurt to Juventus (£14.4m). EPA -
Salvatore Sirigu - Genoa to Napoli (free). Reuters -
Mikkel Damsgaard - Sampdoria to Brentford (£12.7m). EPA -
Malang Sarr - Chelsea to Monaco (loan). AFP -
Issa Diop - West Ham United to Fulham (£15m). Getty Images -
Alexis Sanchez - Internazionale to Marseille (free). Getty Images -
Timo Werner - Chelsea to RB Leipzig (£18m). AP -
Amadou Onana - Llle to Everton (£33.8m). AFP -
Emirhan Ilkhan - Besiktas to Torino (£3.8m). PA -
Gonçalo Guedes - Valencia to Wolves (£27.5m). AP Photo -
Conor Coady - Wolves to Everton (loan). Getty Images -
Anthony Modeste - Cologne to Borussia Dortmund (£3.8m). EPA -
Angeliño - RB Leipzig to Hoffenheim (loan). Getty Images -
Marcos Senesi - Feyenoord to Bournemouth (£12.6m). AFP -
Isco - Real Madrid to Sevilla (free). EPA -
Raheem Sterling - Manchester City to Chelsea (£50m). Getty Images -
Lisandro Martinez - Ajax to Manchester United (£46m). Getty Images -
Robert Lewandowski - Bayern Munich to Barcelona (£38.3m). AFP -
Hugo Ekitike - Reims to Paris Saint-Germain (loan). AFP -
Thomas Henry - Venezia to Verona (£3.8m). Getty Images -
Takefusa Kubo - Real Madrid to Real Sociedad (£5.2m). Getty Images -
Kalidou Koulibaly - Napoli to Chelsea (£33.8m). EPA -
Chancel Mbemba - Porto to Marseille (free). EPA -
Breel Embolo - Borussa Monchengladbach to Monaco (£10.6m). EPA -
Christian Eriksen - Brentford to Manchester United (free). PA -
Raphinha - Leeds United to Barcelona (£49m). Getty Images -
Federico Bernardeschi - Juventus to Toronto FC (free). Getty Images -
Andrea Cambiaso - Genoa to Juventus (£5.9m). Getty Images -
Arturo Vidal - Inter Milan to Flamengo (free). Getty Images -
Mohamed Bayo - Clermont to Lille (£11.8m). AFP -
Francisco Trincao - Barcelona to Sporting (loan). Getty Images -
Samu Castillejo - AC Milan to Valencia (undisclosed fee). PA -
Lewis Ferguson - Aberdeen to Bologna (£3m). PA -
Keane Lewis-Potter - Hull City to Brentford (£16m). PA -
Alessio Romagnoli - AC Milan to Lazio (free). Getty Images -
Nathan Collins - Burnley to Wolves (£20.5m). PA -
Andriy Yarmolenko - West Ham United to Al Ain (free). AP Photo -
David Ospina - Napoli to Al Nassr (free). Getty Images -
Kristian Thorstvedt - Genk to Sassuolo (£8.4m). Reuters -
Andreas Pereira -Manchester United to Fulham ( £10m). Getty Images -
Gabriel Jesus - Manchester City to Arsenal (£45m). Getty Images -
Steven Bergwijn - Tottenham Hotspur to Ajax (£26.5m). AP Photo -
Andreas Christensen - Chelsea to Barcelona (free). AFP -
Sébastien Haller - Ajax to Borussia Dortmund (£30.8m). AFP -
Flynn Downes - Swansea City to West Ham United (£12m). PA -
Junior Messias - Crotone to AC Milan (£3.8m). Reuters -
Luis Sinisterra - Feyenoord to Leeds United (£21.3m). AFP -
Brais Méndez - Celta Vigo to Real Sociedad (£12.8m). Getty Images -
Moussa Niakhaté - Mainz to Nottingham Forest (£8.7m). Getty Images -
Romeo Lavia - Manchester City to Southmpton (£12m). AP Photo -
Tyler Adams - RB Leipzig to Leeds United (£20m). AP -
Axel Witsel - Borussia Dortmund to Atletico Madrid (free). EPA -
Maya Yoshida - Sampdoria to Schalke (free). AP Photo -
Tyrell Malacia - Feyenoord to Manchester United (£12.9m). AP Photo -
Zeki Celik - Lille to Roma (£6m). AFP -
Ritsu Doan - PSV Eindhoven to Freiburg (£6.5m). AFP -
Divock Origi - Liverpool to AC Milan (free). AFP -
Rolando Mandragora - Torino to Fiorentina (£7m). EPA -
Joao Palhinha - Sporting to Fulham (£17m). Getty Images -
Franck Kessie - AC Milan to Barcelona (free). Getty Images -
Trezeguet - Aston Villa to Trabzonspor (£3.4m). AFP -
Kalvin Phillips - Leeds United to Manchester City (£45m). Reuters -
Giulian Biancone - Troyes to Nottingham Forest (£5m). AFP -
Giuliano Simeone - Atletico Madrid to Real Zaragoza (loan). EPA -
Raoul Bellanova - Cagliari to Inter Milan (loan). Getty Images -
Richarlison - Everton to Tottenham (£50 million). PA -
Fabio Carvalho - Fulham to Liverpool (£5 million). PA -
James Tarkowski Burnley to Everton (free). Getty Images -
Sime Vrsaljko - Atletico Madrid to Olympiakos (free). AP Photo -
Dean Henderson - Manchester United to Nottingham Forest (loan). PA -
Luuk de Jong - Sevilla to PSV Eindhoven (£3.4m). AP Photo -
Henrikh Mkhitaryan - Roma to Inter Milan (free). Reuters -
Cenk Tosun - Everton to Besiktas (free). Reuters -
Andre Onana - Ajax to Inter Milan (free). Getty -
Moussa Sissoko - Watford to Nantes (£2m). AFP -
Corentin Tolisso - Bayern Munich to Lyon (free). AFP -
Vitinha - Porto to Paris Saint-Germain (£34m). AFP -
Romelu Lukaku - Chelsea to Inter Milan (loan). PA -
Lorenzo Insigne - Napoli to Toronto FC (free). AP -
Sven Botman - Lille to Newcastle United (£31.9m). AFP -
Takumi Minamino - Liverpool to Monaco (£15.5m). Getty Images -
Alphonse Areola - Paris Saint-Germain to West Ham United (£7.8m). AFP -
Lucas Leiva - Lazio to Gremo (free). Getty Images -
Joselu - Alaves to Espanyol (free). Getty Images -
Matt Turner - New England Revolution to Arsenal (£4.7m). Reuters -
Fernandinho - Manchester City to Athletico Paranaense (free). PA -
Bartol Franjic - Dinamo Zagreb to Wolfsburg (£6.9m). Getty Images -
Wahbi Khazri - Saint-Etienne to Montpellier (free). AFP -
Tobias Figueiredo - Hull City to Nottingham Forest (free). PA -
Pietro Pellegri - Monaco to Tornio (£3.9m). Getty Images -
Erling Haaland - Borussia Dortmund to Manchester City. Getty Images -
Malcolm Ebiowei - Derby County to Crystal Palace (undisclosed). PA -
Taiwo Awoniyi - Union Berlin to Nottingham Forest (£17m). Getty Images -
Gareth Bale - Real Madrid to Los Angeles FC (free). PA -
Lucas Alario - Bayer Leverkusen to Eintracht Frankfurt (£5.6m). PA -
Sadio Mane - Liverpool to Bayern Munich (£28m). Getty Images -
Armindo Sieb - Bayern Munich to Greuther Fürth (undisclosed fee). Getty Images -
Nick Pope - Burnley to Newcastle (£10m). PA -
Ki-Jana Hoever - Wolves to PSV Eindhoven (loan). PA -
Ryan Fredericks - West Ham United to Bournemouth (free). Getty Images -
Mario Götze - PSV Eindhoven to Eintracht Frankfurt (£3.4m). Getty Images -
Fabio Vieira - Porto to Arsenal (£30m). EPA -
Antonio Rudiger - Chelsea to Real Madrid (free). PA -
Merih Demiral - Juventus to Atalanta (£17.2m). AFP -
Giovanni Simeone - Cagliari to Hellas Verona (£10.3m). AP -
Marc Roca - Bayern Munich to Leeds United (£10m). PA -
Yves Bissouma - Brighton to Tottenham (£25m). PA -
Gavin Bazunu - Manchester City to Southampton (£12m). PA -
Darwin Nunez - Benfica to Liverpool (£64.3m). PA -
Aurelien Tchouameni - Monaco to Real Madrid (£85.3m). AFP -
Nemanja Matic - Manchester United to Roma (free). EPA -
Ryan Gravenberch - Ajax to Bayern Munich (£20m). EPA -
Giorgio Chiellini - Juventus to Los Angeles FC (released). Getty Images -
Cameron Carter-Vickers - Tottenham to Celtic (£6m). AFP -
Alexandre Lacazette - Arsenal to Lyon (free transfer). AFP
