Chelsea made HUGE mistake with Lukaku's Inter deal

Stuart Telford

• Updated: 23 May 2023 09:00 CDT
• 3 min read

Romelu Lukaku's second spell at Chelsea may have been a disaster, but the Blues still dropped the ball when they loaned him back to Inter Milan…

Lukaku returned to Stamford Bridge amid much fanfare at the start of last season, re-joining the club he first left in 2014 on a €115 million transfer from Inter.

But just 15 goals in 44 games in all competitions later and the Belgian was packed off back to whence he came, returning to Inter on loan for an €8m fee.

READ: Back to Chelsea: Why flop Lukaku won’t stay at Inter

But there was no option in the deal to recall Lukaku early, and even if he has stuttered in Italy this season - two goals and an assist in five games but many minutes on the bench - that would have proved entirely useful for Chelsea this winter.

Kai Havertz and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang have only combined for seven goals in 32 games between them this season, and Armando Broja, an alternative up front, will now miss the rest of the campaign with a knee injury.

Chelsea desperately need to turn things around under Graham Potter having lost four consecutive games in all competitions before the World Cup, and could now have to spend big in the winter window when they already had a potential solution on their books.

Potential with Potter

Lukaku may have disappointed at Chelsea last season, but Potter also has a good track record with big, physical No.9s, as Danny Welbeck's 22 goal-involvements in two full seasons under him attest.

READ: How Chelsea could line up with Cristiano Ronaldo

Chelsea have been linked with Cristiano Ronaldo, Datro Fofana and others for the coming winter frenzy, and they will have to spend significant sums for either - the former on wages after his release from Manchester United, the latter a transfer fee.

They could have plugged a gap in their attack for free, if they had had the foresight to include a recall option. Instead, Lukaku will fester at the San Siro and return and even less valuable asset while the Blues struggle in attack.