Only one thing can ruin Romelu Lukaku’s hopes of reigniting his love affair with Internazionale this summer: money. Take the finances out of the equation and everything would be so straightforward. Lukaku would be free to move back to a league more suited to his talents, Inter would be reunited with the striker who fired them to the Serie A title in 2021, and Chelsea would be able to move on from a player who has spent the past 10 months putting together a strong claim to be the worst signing of the Roman Abramovich era.
It has been a disaster. Lukaku has not settled since joining Chelsea for £97.5m last summer and Thomas Tuchel will not stand in his way if a deal with Inter can be agreed. There is little trust between the pair, little desire to adapt to each other’s needs, little sign that they will ever be on the same wavelength. It is not a productive relationship and at this stage, with Lukaku clearly unsuited to Tuchel’s system and keen to force his way back to Inter, it is difficult to see what Chelsea would gain from hanging on to the Belgian.
Yet there are hurdles to overcome if Lukaku is to get his way. Chelsea, whose takeover by a consortium led by Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital went through last week, cannot simply wave him goodbye. The deal needs to make financial sense and Lukaku, who has asked his lawyer to speak to Inter on his behalf, is not an easy player to shift in this market.
Inter cannot afford to buy Lukaku, or pay his £325,000-a-week wages. They sold him because they were in financial trouble. Now they are proposing to sign him on loan and, although there is talk of Inter paying a sizeable loan fee and taking on a heavy portion of Lukaku’s wages, there is doubt over whether they will be able to come up with an arrangement that suits Chelsea.
There is a lot of noise at the moment. It could drag on. It is worth remembering how Lukaku forced Manchester United to sell him to Inter three years ago but Chelsea need to protect their position. Their new owners have plenty to do this summer and although they will back Tuchel they are unlikely to be quite as cavalier as Roman Abramovich.
Sales could be required to bolster the budget and Chelsea have several holes to fill. They need two centre-backs after losing Antonio Rüdiger and Andreas Christensen on free transfers. César Azpilicueta and Marcos Alonso could go. Two of Tuchel’s most important midfielders, N’Golo Kanté and Jorginho, are out of contract next year and the issues in attack are not confined to Lukaku, even if his dissatisfaction outweighs the uncertainty over Christian Pulisic, Timo Werner and Hakim Ziyech.
It is an awkward time for Tuchel. Chelsea are hopeful of signing the Sevilla defender Jules Koundé but their attack requires attention. They have lacked ruthlessness under Tuchel, who wants new forwards. Robert Lewandowski, Christopher Nkunku and Raheem Sterling are exciting targets and links with Barcelona’s Ousmane Dembélé, who is available on a free, refuse to go away.
Yet it will be difficult for Chelsea to act if Lukaku stays, which would benefit no one. Lukaku, who was supposed to turn Chelsea into title contenders, has been hugely disappointing despite finishing last season as the side’s top scorer with 15 goals in all competitions. He has often looked a spare part, his movement too predictable, his link-up play underwhelming, his pressing unconvincing, and he has not endeared himself to supporters, some of whom even booed the 29-year-old when he was substituted during Chelsea’s defeat by Arsenal in April.
Lukaku’s reputation has never recovered from that infamous interview he gave to Sky Italia last winter. It was a huge mistake. Lukaku had made an encouraging start to his second spell at Chelsea, scoring four times in his first four games, and no one could quite work out why he felt the need to question Tuchel’s tactics and talk about returning to Inter. He had a chance to push on after shaking off an ankle injury and recovering from Covid-19. The interview could not have been more unnecessary.
Tuchel was furious and his patience ran out when Lukaku mustered seven touches during Chelsea’s win over Crystal Palace in February. The team were far more fluid with Kai Havertz up front. Lukaku was the odd one out. He started the FA Cup final against Liverpool, only to earn a public admonishment from Tuchel because of his lack of movement, though when it comes to handing out the blame Chelsea will also have to ask themselves why they paid so much for a striker whose time at United had shown he was not cut out to flourish at the top of the Premier League.
Chelsea ignored the warning signs. One view is that Lukaku had honed his game at Inter; the other is that he was doing it in a weaker league. Lukaku has found English football tougher and he does not seem interested in finding out whether spending a full pre-season with Tuchel would improve their relationship. His heart is set on Inter and the question now is how to make it happen. Money will decide.
