Inter Milan CEO Giuseppe Marotta has confirmed Romelu Lukaku will return to Chelsea this summer after admitting the club are not looking to re-sign the striker on a permanent basis. The Inter chief suggested Lukaku is “not in good condition” and that they are “still waiting” to see the player they had at their disposal between 2019 and 2021.
Lukaku rejoined Inter on a season-long loan less than a year after Chelsea signed him for a club-record £97.5million. The Italian side paid a loan fee of €8million plus add-ons to bring the Belgium international back to San Siro.
However, his second stint at Inter has been far less fruitful, as injuries have limited his playing time this campaign. Remarkably, Lukaku has played 90 minutes just twice this season, in Inter’s first and most recent Serie A match.
While the club were qualifying for the Champions League quarter-finals for the first time since 2011 on Wednesday evening, Lukaku was restricted to a 20-minute cameo during the side’s goalless draw against FC Porto. Speaking after their huge triumph, which was achieved courtesy of a 1-0 win in the first-leg, Marotta spoke about the 29-year-old’s future.
He said: “Lukaku deal? He will return to Chelsea as it’s straight loan, it’s part of the deal — then we will see.
“Lukaku is not in good condition yet, we are still waiting to see the real Romelu as we saw in the past”.
Having moved from Inter to Chelsea in 2021, Lukaku took just three months to fracture the Stamford Bridge dressing room after an interview emerged of the striker undermining head coach Thomas Tuchel. Lukaku announced his intention to return to Italy, a move which was granted the following season.
However, his dream return has been plagued by fitness issues, most notably a hamstring problem. Although he has found more regular minutes since the 2022 Qatar World Cup, and will hope to use Inter’s remaining fixtures this term to convince the club to make the move permanent.
Financial constraints for the Serie A side mean there is also the question of finding a package that suits both parties, with Chelsea holding very little power. Marotta previously added : “Lukaku wants to stay at Inter, for sure — we know Romelu’s intention and so we will see if we can negotiate his return here."
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