Former Manchester United striker Romelu Lukaku believes he is among the five best strikers in world football, and also named two managers who have had big influences on his game.
The Inter Milan forward has enjoyed a fantastic season and a half in Italy following his big-money exit from Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's Red Devils in August 2019.
This year, the 27-year-old, with 35 goals at club level, has only been outscored by Bayern Munich's Robert Lewandowski and Juventus' Cristiano Ronaldo. As such, he was recently asked whether or not he thinks he is one of the best strikers in the game today.
"Now? In the past five months, yes," he told Sport/Voetbalmagazine.
"I don't want to rank that group from one to five, but I'm part of it right now."
Lukaku also discussed working under Jose Mourinho and Roberto Martinez, two managers he feels helped him become a much better player.
"Mourinho taught me to work better with the team, both in terms of pressing and to position me better on the field. Just look at what he's doing with Harry Kane now," he added.
"I used to love vertical football. I found myself to be most dangerous when I was facing the goal. I am fast, I can eliminate my direct opponent with a dribble, or swerve to the left or the right.
"That was my game in the past, also because I was often in teams that played on the counter. But the national team has obliged me to adjust my playing style.
"With Belgium, we quickly became a team that had the most possession and got the least space (to play in). Roberto Martinez did everything he could to make me feel more comfortable with my back to goal, both with the national team and back at Everton.
"At the age of 20, I still had a lot to learn. But I soon realised that if I could train that aspect of my play, I could do what I wanted in a match."
