Chelsea face losing ‘amazing’ player who ‘loves’ another club with Pochettino forced into first big call
Romelu Lukaku in action for Inter Milan while on loan from Chelsea
Inter Milan president Steven Zhang is reportedly ‘determined’ to keep hold of Chelsea loanee Romelu Lukaku for at least another season.
The Belgium international signed for Chelsea from Inter for a fee of £97.5m in 2021. But, after just one season, he found himself loaned back to the Italian giants.
Now, Mauricio Pochettino faces a difficult decision; give Lukaku another chance to flourish with the Blues, sell him permanently, or, loan him back to Inter for another campaign.
The striker put in a poor performance in the Champions League final on Saturday – missing one huge chance in the dying moments of the 1-0 defeat to Man City.
Nevertheless, Inter president Zhang describes Lukaku as ‘amazing’ and would love to keep him for another season.
Speaking in an interview, he said: “He showed great attachment to Inter. He loves Inter, that’s very clear. He’s an amazing guy. But the guy has a contract with Chelsea, so we have to wait to talk to them to understand.”
However, Lukaku is on a wage of £375,000-per-week at Chelsea. So, realistically, Inter could only afford to loan him, rather than sign him permanently.
READ MORE: Chelsea receive double transfer blow leaving Pochettino bewildered; £43m target ‘happy’ where he is
Chelsea face tough Lukaku decision
It remains to be seen what Pochettino’s decision regading Lukaku will be. Chelsea could certainly do with some striker reinforcements ahead of next season, though. t
Recently, the Blues have had to rely upon the likes of Kai Havertz to play out of position as a centre-forward.
This is due to the fact Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang simply hasn’t been good enough, and Armando Broja has been sidelined with a serious injury.
As a result, Chelsea scored just 38 goals in 38 matches – finishing in 12th place in the Premier League table. This made it the Blues’ worst campaign since 1994.
So, Lukaku could definitely play a big role for Chelsea next season. This term, for Inter, Lukaku made 37 appearances in all competitions, scoring 14 goals.
What’s certain, though, is that Lukaku loves Inter and would no doubt be pleased to stay at the San Siro.
Inter CEO Beppe Marotta has also spoken about Lukaku’s future, telling Radio Rai in May: “Romelu loves the shirt he wears, he is very comfortable at Inter. These are fundamental aspects, this desire of his to be with us.”
With that in mind, it will be interesting to see what decision Pochettino makes on Lukaku. But, he could certainly play a big role for Chelsea next term, even if he has struggled with them in the past.
