Hertha seal reported club-record deal for Lukebakio

Hertha Berlin have announced the signing of forward Dodi Lukebakio from Watford in a reported club-record deal.

Lukebakio is said to have cost the Bundesliga side €20million (£18.3m), surpassing the fee of €8.5m spent on Davie Selke two years ago.

The Belgium Under-21 star, capable of playing anywhere across the front line, returns to Germany on a “long-term” contract after impressing on loan at Fortuna Dusseldorf last season.

Upon joining Hertha, Lukebakio said: “Hertha are a big club in Germany and showed a lot of interest in me. I knew very quickly that I wanted to join the club.

“I want to play a lot of football here and score loads of goals.”

Lukebakio played just 15 minutes for Watford after joining from Anderlecht in January 2018, but his form with Fortuna attracted interest this close season.

The 21-year-old scored 14 goals in all competitions last term, including a hat-trick against champions Bayern Munich to snatch a dramatic 3-3 draw.

See you in two weeks, @FCBayernEN https://t.co/OLOJLuyJwz

— Hertha Berlin (@HerthaBSC_EN) August 1, 2019