Serie A giants Inter Milan are reportedly hoping to keep Chelsea loanee Romelu Lukaku at the club beyond this season.
According to a report from Gazzetta dello Sport, Chelsea striker Romelu Lukaku joined Inter Milan at the start of the season. And even though the Belgian has been on the sidelines for the most part, the Serie A club are hoping to keep him beyond this season.
The 29-year-old had fallen out of favour under former Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel. And he was loaned out to Inter Milan at the start of the season. However, the Belgian striker has suffered from persistent injury problems and has played just 234 minutes of first-team football so far this season. In that time, Lukaku has scored twice and picked up one assist across all competitions.
It is clear that the loan move has not worked out for both parties. But Inter Milan are prepared to give Lukaku another chance and are ready to extend his stay at the club.
Lukaku has no future at Stamford Bridge, and it will be interesting to see if the Blues are prepared to let him leave permanently at the end of this season. Alternatively, another loan deal could be on the cards as well if Chelsea fail to find a suitor for him.
Chelsea paid a club record fee for the Belgian international when they decided to bring him back to Stamford Bridge from Inter Milan. And the west London club will look to recoup a reasonable amount of money.
However, Lukaku’s stock has fallen because of poor performances since his return to Stamford Bridge and because of his injury problems this season. It is highly unlikely that any club will be open to paying big money for the Belgian at the end of this season. So Chelsea might have to accept a substantial loss while letting him leave.
That said, Lukaku could still enhance his value by performing at a high level at the 2022 FIFA World Cup. Prior to his return to Chelsea, Lukaku was one of the best players in Serie A and had helped Inter Milan win the Scudetto after a number of years. It is not surprising that Inter Milan are willing to give the Chelsea loanee another chance to re-discover his peak form.
