24 February 2023 , 02:00
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Romelu Lukaku went against Thierry Henry's advice by completing an ill-fated return to Chelsea in the summer of 2021, the Arsenal legend has admitted.
The Belgium international, 29, moved back to Stamford Bridge in what was a club-record £97.5million transfer but scored an underwhelming 15 goals in all competitions. That was half the tally he managed during the previous season for Inter Milan as they won Serie A prompting Chelsea to re-sign a player who made 15 goalless appearances for them between 2011 and 2013.
Lukaku made no secret of his unhappiness with Thomas Tuchel's system and criticised the then-Chelsea manager in an explosive interview. He returned to Inter on loan last summer and has scored four goals this season, including a late winner in the Champions League fixture against Porto on Wednesday night.
Henry knows the player well from his two stints as an assistant coach in the Belgium set-up and, as a prolific striker in his playing days, he takes a keen interest in Lukaku's situation. The former Premier League superstar confesses he warned Lukaku about Tuchel's style of play, but his words fell on deaf ears.
"We had a discussion when he went to Chelsea," Henry said of Lukaku on CBS Sports. "I told him he's going to find it difficult to play at Chelsea and that happened to be the case because of the way Tuchel liked to play.
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Romelu Lukaku struggled for form last season and clashed with Thomas Tuchel (Getty Images)"Pressing, the No.9 and winger have to change. Rom likes to stay where he is; feed him, play him early, he will try to bully you, turn, stay in the box, crosses. He's a different type of No.9 to what Tuchel wanted. Now, is he going to fit into what [Graham] Potter is trying to do? I think they're struggling with that, let alone with him in the squad.
"But what does he want to do? I don't think he wants to go back, that's the main thing. I think he wants to stay at Inter, and that's where there's maybe going to be a little clash if they want him back because I think he wants to stay there. The way when he came back. He said it, he said it the other day, 'everyone knows what I want to do, what I want to do is to stay'."
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Thierry Henry warned Romelu Lukaku about returning to Stamford Bridge (TF-Images/Getty Images)Lukaku's future remains uncertain beyond this summer. He has just over three years remaining on his lucrative contract in west London but it is not known whether Graham Potter will bring him back to the fold.
There is no option to buy as part of Lukaku's season-long loan at San Siro. As Henry alluded to, the former Everton and Manchester United frontman declared in January that he would like to stay at Inter rather than return to Chelsea.