Chelsea striker Romelu Lukaku, who is currently out on a season-long loan at Inter Milan, is interested in extending his temporary deal at the San Siro, according to transfer expert Fabrizio Romano.
Lukaku, 29, joined the Blues from Inter on a club-record deal worth £97.5 million amid much fanfare last summer. The Belgian arrived from Italy on red-hot form after scoring 64 goals during his two-season stint with the Nerazzurri. However, he failed to make a mark in London.
Despite a positive start to his second spell at Stamford Bridge, he netted just 15 goals in 44 appearances for the west London outfit last campaign.
After falling out with former head coach Thomas Tuchel, he was loaned out to Inter ahead of the 2022-23 season.
In his column for Caught Offside, Romano claimed that Lukaku has not been in touch with his parent club and hopes to continue plying his trade for Simone Inzaghi’s side. He wrote:
“Nothing has changed between Romelu Lukaku and Chelsea. The point is the player, he’s only focused on Inter project and he hopes to continue there also next season.
“No one called him on the Chelsea side, so I think the comeback is not a priority for both club and player.”
According to Gazzetta dello Sport (via Jacque Talbot), Inter have initiated talks with the Blues to re-sign the former Manchester United attacker on loan at the end of the ongoing season for another year.
So far this season, Lukaku has netted once in three Serie A games. He is currently nursing a muscle injury and has been left out of Belgium’s UEFA Nations League squad for the upcoming group matches.
Romelu Lukaku opens up on disastrous Chelsea spell after Inter switch
Speaking to DAZN (via Football Italia) last month, Romelu Lukaku shed light on his below-par debut campaign at Stamford Bridge following his big-money transfer in August last year. He elaborated:
“The season at Chelsea gave me extra motivation to do even better than before. I think in one year, everyone has forgotten about the things I am capable of doing on the pitch. That is a kind of anger that I have inside me.”
He added:
“I make reflections only at the end of the season, so after the last game, I put myself to think what my situation was. I saw that as a player with Inter, I did well; the season at Chelsea for me was difficult. I had no doubts; that’s why I made the decision to come back here.”
