Chelsea face Lukaku dilemma as Inter make huge loan demand

Jacque Talbot

• Updated: 9 Feb 2023 13:46 GMT
• 3 min read

Chelsea may have to lower their price to enable Romelu Lukaku to continue his stay with Inter Milan.

The Serie A giants are keen on having negotiations with Chelsea over another loan deal - with talks expected to take place after their Champions League clash with Porto.

The Belgian international is currently playing for them this campaign after enduring a torrid return to Stamford Bridge last season, where he played under Thomas Tuchel.

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Lukaku has only scored one goal for Inter this season in the Serie A - and two in all competitions.

But despite this, the Italian side are hopeful they will be able to secure the striker for another year, reports La Gazzetta.

Simone Inzaghi's side have a current agreement with the Blues which sees them pay £7m in loan fees and an additional £2.6m in potential add-ons - but they want that reduced to £4m.

Indeed, going into the next term, they are hoping to get that price lowered - with the side wanting to pay just half the current rate.

Lukaku’s poor form this window is obviously leverage for this - as is the fact that Chelsea do want to see the player out of loan next season. The 29-year-old, who joined Chelsea from Inter Milan in what was a club-record £97.5m deal in 2021, wishes to remain with Inter and has no desire to move back to west London.

The attacker is now in touch with Sebastien Ledure, the lawyer who helped negotiate his return to Inter.

The same publication details that if all fails with Lukaku, they might look to Liverpool’s Roberto Fimino, whose contract is up at Anfield in the summer.

Last month, Lukaku said that he is hoping to put his injuries and Belgium's premature World Cup exit behind him and focus his attention on getting back to winning ways with Inter.

Lukaku wants Inter stay

"Everyone knows what I want. Right now I have to do whatever is necessary with the team to make Inter win and then we can talk to Chelsea," Lukaku told Sky Sport Italy. "The idea is to finish [my career] with [boyhood club] Anderlecht. I'm [nearly] 30 years old, my son started school here and plays in the Inter academy. I'm fine, Inter always has ambition to keep growing.

"I want to stay here and do things right. I hope to do well with Inter in the next six months, work to the maximum and then at the end we talk to Chelsea and hope to find a solution."