Romelu Lukaku was immensely brilliant at Inter Milan, scoring goals a-plenty, and his partnership with Lautaro Martinez was fearsome; he helped the Nerazzurri win the scudetto and almost win the Europa League.
Chelsea wanted him back and bought him for 97 million euros. A club record. Obviously a lot was expected of the Belgian, but he hasn’t lived up to expectations and even the fans want him out.
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The second time was not the best
Lukaku had already been at Chelsea, played two seasons, but it didn’t work out. The player was even sent on loan to Everton where his career exploded. In his first spell with the Blues, he played 15 games and did not score a single goal. It was not his finest hour.
When Chelsea offered him back, Lukaku’s eyes sparkled because he saw an opportunity for revenge, to prove that they had made a mistake in selling him the first time. It all started well, with 3 goals in 5 games, and we thought the striker was going to be one of the best of the season.
But the drought began, in the Premiership 14 games without scoring, many injuries, and few shots. In the Champions League the dynamic didn’t change, only one goal in the group stage, and in the other competitions sometimes he didn’t touch the ball. But he still had the affection of the public.
The Belgian was not comfortable, he played in his position. But the system is different, with Inter, he had Lautaro as his ideal partner, here, he sometimes played alone, or he was accompanied by Werner, who is not of the characteristics of Martinez, and sometimes Kai Havertz was his partner, but the same case, there was no chemistry with the German.
Lukaku felt alone on the pitch and in the country. Every chance he got, he would throw compliments at Italy and Inter, until he said in an interview that he would soon return and that it was his favourite place. One of the worst mistakes he could have made.
That’s when the London fans got on his back. The fans forgave him for his time at United when he returned. But the lack of goals and this statement pushed them over the edge and even Tuchel ended up separating him from the team for a while, and he didn’t play against Liverpool, which surprised everyone because it was a pretty important rival.
Lukaku had to come out and apologize, but all was lost, his teammates and his coach no longer had the same confidence in him, and it showed because in one game he didn’t touch the ball until the 80th minute, something unthinkable for a striker of his size.
Leaving Chelsea?
He has played 40 games and scored only 12 goals, his lowest scoring record in the last 9 seasons. There have been talks that he could leave the club, and who wouldn’t like to have a striker like Lukaku.
Inter Milan themselves would be delighted with his return and he would go in a heartbeat, but it’s not that easy. He has a five-year contract with the English club, Chelsea would let him go if they pay what he is worth, and his cost is around 90 million euros. He is even more expensive than Haaland or Mbappé, and at the moment there is no one willing to pay that amount.He could force his way out, but in this case, the club is in charge, if someone pays his cost, the doors will open, but if not, he will have to stay. In recent days, there have been talks that the striker has got used to the idea and will try to adapt to find his best version.
His quality is unquestionable, but he will have to work hard to regain the confidence of the fans and his goalscoring quality. Will we see the best Lukaku next season? Also, an important factor is the World Cup, to leave now would be to go to another team where he might not be able to play as much, at Chelsea he will surely play, and he would want to arrive in Qatar with rhythm.
Do we get the best Lukaku back?
and then