15 March 2023 , 00:00
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Inter Milan chief executive Beppe Marotta has confirmed that Romelu Lukaku will return to Chelsea once his season-long loan at the San Siro concludes in the summer.
Lukaku was a popular figure with the Italian giants before he was lured back to Stamford Bridge for a second spell in the summer of 2021 in a blockbuster £97.5million move. But after struggling to live up expectations, the 29-year-old was shipped back out to the Serie A outfit on loan before the start of the 2022/23 campaign.
The Belgian striker has been plagued by injuries this season, though, and has netted just five times in 17 appearances for Inter, who have played down the prospect of extending Lukaku's stay at the club.
Although it has been claimed by The Athletic that the Italian titans have not completely closed the door on keeping Lukaku beyond this season, it's understood that the finances that would be involved in extending the agreement they have with Chelsea would make doing so difficult.
Marotta has outlined that regardless of how the rest of the season pans out, Lukaku will return to Chelsea in the summer. He said: “The loan was for one season so on June 30 regardless of how well he plays, he’ll go back to Chelsea. This has been an unprecedented season.
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“I’m referring of course to the World Cup. The problems we’ve experienced have been experienced by other clubs too and the players who played at the World Cup. Lukaku is a case in point. [Marcelo] Brozovic isn’t the Brozovic we know. Lukaku hasn’t found the fitness he needs to play his best football. He’s still not at his best or the player we got to see in years gone by.”
Join the debate! Do you think Lukaku should be given another chance by Chelsea ? Let us know here.
Romelu Lukaku had a poor season in the Premier League after returning to Chelsea last year (Getty Images)Amid his struggles in Italy, Lukaku has been subjected to some fierce criticism in recent weeks. Former Inter striker Christian Vieri is the latest to hit out at Lukaku by claiming that even he - at 49 years of age - would outscore the striker in this team.
Speaking to BoboTV, he said: "Inter at home create 10 chances per game, play well. You have [Denzel] Dumfries who crosses, [Federico] Dimarco who crosses, you have [Nicolo] Barella.
"There are more players who put Lukaku in a good position. I'll tell you one thing: if I played for this Inter [team], I'd win the top scorer every year."
During his previous spell with the club, Lukaku plundered league 24 goals in the 2020/21 campaign to end Inter's 11-year Scudetto drought. However, it remains to be seen if new Chelsea boss Graham Potter, who signed over £300m worth of talent in the January transfer window, would be open to reintegrating Lukaku into the Blues team next year.