Inter Milan boss Antonio Conte has leaped to the defence of star striker Romelu Lukaku after the Manchester United forward was previously compared to a donkey.
Lukaku continued his fine form in Serie A this season, where he is the second top goalscorer, after netting twice in Inter's 3-1 win over Napoli on Monday night.
Following the match, Conte praised the former Manchester United forward for his performance and took advantage of the opportunity to defend him against previous insults that were laid at his feet.
"I heard people say Lukaku was a donkey… I heard all sorts not even that long ago!" Conte said, as reported by the Daily Mail.
"It's easy to speak highly of Lukaku now, but if we look back to a few weeks ago…
"I always said Romelu was a rough diamond that needed work to smooth him out. Lautaro Martinez is the same. These lads are 26 and 22 years old, they are still young.
"I wanted Romelu very strongly when I was at Chelsea, even back at Juventus. I wanted him, now I can get to work on polishing the diamond."
The Belgium international joined Inter from United at the start of the season and has scored 16 goals in 23 appearances for the campaign.
