Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel has likened new signing Romelu Lukaku to former Blues centre-forwards Didier Drogba and Diego Costa.

Tuchel says the latter pair epitomise Chelsea and wants Lukaku to do the same.

"He is a true number nine," he said. "When I thought about Chelsea before I even entered the club and had the chance to be part of it, I thought of personalities up front like Didier Drogba and Diego Costa. This is something that embodies Chelsea and what Chelsea stands for – strong and physical strikers.

"Since I worked here, I understand why there are so many physical strikers that are so needed and so successful because the league demands it. He's a perfect fit for Chelsea and he will take the weight off the shoulders of our younger strikers.

"This is a huge part of the story, that he does not step away and he's happy to make life easier for players around him. I think players like Christian [Pulisic], Kai [Havertz] and Timo [Werner] will benefit from him."

On when the £98m man will make his debut, Tuchel also stated: "We were not fast enough to let him play on Wednesday [in the Super Cup] or against Crystal Palace because Romelu is still in quarantine and following the protocols.

"He will be out on Monday, do the whole training with us next week and will play for us against Arsenal. That's the plan. If things go normal, he will be on the pitch then."