Having trained in front of a Stamford Bridge crowd for the first time since his return, Romelu Lukaku expressed his delight at returning to Chelsea and gave an update on his fitness.

The Belgian International signed for a club record £97.5 million fee, surpassing that of last summer's marquee signing Kai Havertz.

Lukaku's focus, however, was not on numbers but instead his feelings at returning to the club he left at 21 years old.

Desire to impress

Referring to his arrival, he said, 'The dream is reality now. It's time to get to work and let my performance do the talking'.

This show of intent will no doubt be welcomed by Chelsea fans everywhere, who have been desperate for a world-class striker following the team's lack of goals last season.

The 28-year-old also revealed what he likes most about head coach Thomas Tuchel.

'The coach is clear with his ideas. We want to keep working hard to keep improving. That fits with my ambitions.'

European Rivals

With the UEFA Champions League trophy also presented to fans after the open training session, the new No.9 spoke on competition rivals PSG.

'PSG has a great team but so do we. Let us work hard, keep building on what we have and let's see how far we can get.'

The French club have had arguably one of the greatest transfer windows ever, including the signing of former teammate of Lukaku, Achraf Hakimi.

The right wing back combined with the Belgian multiple times for Inter Milan, and Lukaku attributes his improvement to his time in the country.

'It's about becoming more complete as a player. It's more technical and tactical in Italy. It helped me a lot.'

Potential Debut

This improvement may be seen on Sunday, when the Blues face London rivals Arsenal in the Premier League. The Gunners have had a tough start to the season, losing 2-0 to Brentford in their opening game.

Regardless of form though, as Lukaku points out, a derby is never an easy game.

'It's going to be a tough game, a big game. We are preparing ourselves for battle.'

This warrior-like mentality will be warmly received by Tuchel who now faces the decision of whether to include the striker in the starting eleven.

Lukaku remained coy when questioned on his potential involvement: 'I've been training, I did a full pre-season. I'm available if the manager wants to play me.'

Perhaps the most reassuring quote to hear, though, was his excitement at being back in West London:

'It's good to be back.'