romelu lukaku has hit the ground running in his second stint with Chelsea, already proving to be the goal-scorer they desperately needed. With the Belgian in fine form, you better believe other players and coaches around the Premier League are taking notice, especially Man City boss Pep Guardiola, who had nothing but praise for Lukaku’s development. Via Simon Stone of BBC Sport:

“Not going to deny what a player he is. He made a step forward under Ronald Koeman + after he went to Utd. Antonio Conte has ability to improve every single player + he came back to the champions of Europe. The team was already so strong + with him is now stronger.”

The Chelsea talisman initially burst onto the scene with Everton many years ago and after a failed stint at Man United, he took his talents to Inter Milan. That’s where he really improved as a complete striker under Antonio Conte, forming a lethal partnership with Lautaro Martinez en route to de-throning Juventus last term for the Scudetto.

Live and breathe sports?

🚨 Get viral graphics, memes, rumors and trending sports news delivered right to your inbox with the Clutch Newsletter.

Lukaku is arguably the strongest on-ball striker in the world because of his intimidating physique. But, he’s become a much better player with his back to goal, showing the ability to pick out a pass and supply assists along with scoring a boatload of goals.

In five appearances, with Chelsea, Lukaku has already netted four times and is certainly showing early on that he could be the missing piece to Thomas Tuchel’s puzzle. From front to back, the Blues are extremely strong, but they did lack that end product in the final third before Lukaku’s arrival.

While Pep realizes the type of player the 28-year-old Belgium international is, he will be hoping his City backline can contain him on Saturday as the two English giants clash for the first time since Chelsea beat the Citizens in the Champions League final in May.