Conte’s strict diet that has made Lukaku lose significant weight

Former Manchester United striker Romelu Lukaku [Courtesy]

Former Manchester United striker Romelu Lukaku has reportedly lost half a stone in weight since being put on a new diet by manager Antonio Conte.

The 26-year-old made the move from Old Trafford to Inter Milan on transfer deadline day for a fee of £74million and has adjusted well to life in Italy.

He scored on his competitive debut on Monday as Inter strolled to a comfortable 4-0 win over Lecce in their first Serie A game of the season and he is expected to start again in the trip to Cagliari on Sunday.

And according to the Daily Mail part of the reason Lukaku has looked so sharp may be down to Conte and his strict nutrition regime.

Lukaku was thought to be overweight towards the end of his spell at United, with reports he tipped the scales at 104kg when he moved to Inter.

However, Conte is a big believer in the 'Bresaola diet', which includes portions of vegetables and white meat such as turkey and chicken.

There is a zero tolerance policy on fried food, mozzarella and alcohol, although Lukaku is known to not be a drinker anyway.

He recently posted a picture to his personal Instagram account appearing to mock those who had poked fun at him for being overweight.

The picture was a 'selfie' of him with his shirt off in which he certainly appears leaner than he has done in the past, and it included the caption: "Not bad for a fat boy."

Inter smashed their club-record fee to sign Lukaku, and so the forward perhaps feels the weight of expectations placed on his shoulders, and for that reason has taken his diet more seriously and bought into Conte's methods without question.

Lukaku will have to be at his very best if Inter are to progress in the Champions League, with Thursday's draw pitting them in what looks like this year's 'Group of death' along with Barcelona, Borussia Dortmund and Slavia Prague.