Romelu Lukaku's return to Inter is back on
Karan Tejwani
- 16 Jun 2022 10:38 BST
- 3 min read
Chelsea are eager to let go of Romelu Lukaku and put an end to his tenure at the club, which would signal the end of an unsuccessful return to Stamford Bridge.
The Belgian returned to the club for a £97 million and despite a positive start, his form and relationship with the club has fizzled out as the season went on.
There have been talks between Chelsea and his former club, Inter, over a possible return, but the Italian side were unable to afford the demands set by the Blues.
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What deal have Chelsea and Inter come up with?
Now, though, there seems to be a breakthrough and an agreement could be reached between the two clubs as Chelsea have dropped their demands to €12 million for a season-long loan.
Lukaku has spent much of this calendar year on the bench and out of Thomas Tuchel’s plans, having become disgruntled with the environment at Chelsea.
It’s believed that the player himself is pushing hard for a return to the San Siro, and with little desire to carry on in London, Chelsea feel it’s best to let him go.
The Blues will be making a huge loss on the investment they made last year, and the loan fee would hardly cover the yearly installments owed by Chelsea to Inter for the transfer they made last summer.
Chelsea are hoping to get something out of the deal, as they wish to get one of Inter’s defenders in return in a bid to reinforce their own squad, having lost Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen this summer.
In December, Romelu Lukaku told Sky Italy that he wanted to return to Inter Milan... pic.twitter.com/cY8N6HY8We
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) June 15, 2022
Inter’s Stefan de Vrij, Milan Skriniar and Alessandro Bastoni are targets for the club, and getting someone in return would signal a better deal for Tuchel’s side.
Lukaku’s return in his second spell at Chelsea stood at 15 goals in 44 matches, with eight of those coming in the Premier League, as the club won the Club World Cup and lost the EFL and FA Cup finals.
To replace him, Chelsea are eyeing up players like Gabriel Jesus and Christopher Nkunku, but haven’t made any concrete offers and their focus is on improving their back-line first.
