Romelu Lukaku
Romelu Lukaku

The recent rumours of Romelu Lukaku terminating his Inter loan and making an early return to Chelsea took the news by storm. However, transfer expert Fabrizio Romano has shared an important piece of information over the striker’s situation in Italy. Lukaku re-joined Inter this summer after his massive £100 million move to Chelsea last summer backfired miserably. The 29-year-old failed to emulate his exploits in Thomas Tuchel’s system and even had a fall out with the gaffer.

A return to Inter was sealed by him on loan this summer, which again has disappointed so far. Lukaku is sidelined with muscular injuries and has managed only three games this season scoring once. He is further facing a race against time to be fit for the upcoming World Cup with Belgium. Amidst tough times, reports came flying out of Italy that Inter are not happy with the situation and hence want to cut short his loan spell and send him back to Chelsea as soon as in January.

Romelu Lukaku
Romelu Lukaku’s £100 million return to Chelsea last summer proved to be a disaster as he went back to Inter on loan this summer. Credits: Twitter

No solace for Romelu Lukaku despite a return to Inter

Romelu Lukaku move to Inter from Manchester United during the 2019 summer transfer window, as bid farewell to the Premier League. He regained his midas touch at San Siro, smashing 65 goals in 98 appearances for the Nerazzurris across two seasons. That prompted his former team Chelsea to splash a record £100 million on his acquisition as they were in a dire need of a striker to lead their line.

While the striker declared he had returned to Chelsea after 7 years to prove his doubters wrong, he once again failed to do so. Lukaku could only score 15 goals in 44 games in all competitions last season, the blame of which he pinned on Tuchel and his system. The Belgium international even stated that he made a mistake by leaving Inter and wished he could return in an unauthorized interview to Sky Italia. Months later, his wish was granted as the Blues sent him on a season long loan to Inter as his comments didn’t go well with Tuchel and the Chelsea hierarchy as well.

Now, the rumours of his potential return to Chelsea have emerged with Inter desperate to terminate his contract. The 2020/21 Serie A champions have enough firepower upfront in the likes of Lautaro Martinez, Edin Dzeko and Joaquin Correa and won’t sustain much damage if they send Lukaku back to Chelsea post the World Cup. However, Romano has rather come up with an update contrary to the rumours. The Italian wrote on Twitter:

“Rumours on Romelu Lukaku loan deal to be terminated in January are 100% wide of mark. He will complete the season with Inter — now back after muscle injury. Inter & Chelsea already held verbal talks last June about a potential 2nd season on loan, to be decided in 2023.”

As evident from Romano’s revelations, the two clubs are already underway over negotiations for extending Romelu Lukaku’s loan deal. Inter initially paid Chelsea a loan fee of £7m, and could end up forking out another £3.5m in bonuses if they win the Scudetto. Simone Inzaghi’s side is also covering all of the striker’s wages this season, as he has taken a massive pay-cut in order to help Inter facilitate his loan deal.

Lukaku’s Chelsea fate now remains in the hands of Chelsea’s new gaffer Graham Potter who replaced Tuchel last month. While Potter is currently facing no issues in his attack with Pierre Emerick-Aubameyang getting him goals, the former Brighton manager could still call on Lukaku to bolster his attack with the Gabonese forward turning 34 next year.