Lukaku is a leader, says Belgium coach Tedesc

Romelu Lukaku

For Belgium coach Domenico Tedesco, calling up Romelu Lukaku for a couple of European Championship qualifiers was a no brainer. Even though the striker's season-long loan deal to Roma was only completed Thursday "ending uncertainty over his future and a standoff with Chelsea" and Lukaku having not played so far this campaign.

Domenico Tedesco

Tedesco said he closely followed the developments that led to Lukaku's move at Roma, and that he knew how seriously the striker trained despite the offseason Chelsea row. "I know that he was training. He was training with Chelsea too, of course, but also individually," Tedesco said after including Belgium's record scorer in the 24-man squad. "For us it was not a question to invite him or not, because I think you saw in the last games how important he is. Not just as a player, also for the changing room. He is a leader. He is a top striker, and a top human," Tedesco added.

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Belgium, which is second in Group F three points behind Austria but with a match in hand, takes on Azerbaijan on Sept. 9 then hosts Estonia three days later. The 2024 Euro tournament takes place in Germany. Tedesco said he will have more certainties about Lukaku's fitness after a few days of preparations starting next week at Belgium's training camp. In the absence of stalwarts Kevin De Bruyne and Thibaut Courtois, Tedesco insisted on the need for inspirational players in the squad. "We have some leaders, and Romelu is one of them," Tedesco said.

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