Napoli striker Romelu Lukaku believes that Antonio Conte is one of the four head coaches who has ‘changed my life’, and has explained what makes him such an effective centre-forward when working under the former Juventus, Italy and Inter boss. 

Twice now have Conte and Lukaku won the Serie A title while working together: Once at Inter and once at Napoli in the season just gone. There had been rumours a long way back that Conte had tried to bring the Belgian to Chelsea as a replacement for Diego Costa in 2017 as well. 

“We have the same mentality: Improvement only comes with hard work,” Lukaku said about his relationship with Conte in an interview with La Gazzetta dello Sport, published on Thursday. 

“He has a footballing idea that suits my characteristics, and when I’m at home, I try to learn the concepts of the game that he wants. Our relationship has always worked because he knows how to give me those motivations to try and be the strongest every day.” 

The four most-important coaches of Lukaku’s career

Lukaku feels that Conte is one of the four coaches that have had the most impact on his career thus far, in a list that also includes bosses from his time with the Belgium national team, Everton and Anderlecht. 

When asked if Conte is a bit like a ‘footballing father’, Lukaku told Gazzetta: “Yes, just like Roberto Martinez was in Belgium, Koeman at Everton and Ariel Jacobs at Anderlecht.” 

Lukaku went on to explain to Gazzetta how he has developed as a player between his spells with Inter and Napoli, and what he thinks makes him a better player now than he was back then.

“I’m more experienced, for sure. And I do a lot of tactical work at home. I watch the opposition teams, I have more control of the things that happen on the pitch and I spot things before they happen. Before, I was more reactive.

“People say that the body changes, but even now, in every game, there are two or three plays where I can make a difference starting further back. But I’m more selfless these days. The assists say so. When I first came to Italy, I looked out for myself more so.”