Milan Skriniar divulged how Romelu Lukaku felt about leaving Inter Milan to re-join Chelsea.
Speaking to Calciomercato, Skriniar revealed that the Belgian was brutally honest when discussing the prospect of returning to Stamford Bridge.
Romelu really wants to go
Inter had to deal with the thought of losing their key centre-forward for virtually the entire summer.
Chelsea were on a mission to recruit a new striker and obviously, they went after the very top players in this position.
Moves for Harry Kane and Robert Lewandowski earned a mention, yet it appeared one of two targets was destined for South West London.
For a long stretch of the summery months, Erling Haaland looked the most likely number nine to sign for the Champions League holders.
Yet, as the window gradually closed shut, the deal shut down simultaneously.
This left Lukaku as the remaining viable option, despite the 28-year-old venturing into pre-season with Inter.
Clearly, word got round to the Italian’s camp that their leading frontman was edging toward the exit door.
“We were talking about it,” said Skriniar about the departures from the dressing room.
“(Achraf) Hakimi hasn’t even started again with us.
“Lukaku told us that if there was a chance he would leave. Then the club took on excellent players.”
Lukaku leaves for London
Lukaku did eventually earn his Chelsea homecoming, not long after Hakimi set sail for Paris Saint-Germain.
Inter lost two of their key performers from the 2019/20 title-winning season, which many feared would dent their chances of regaining the crown.
No such scenario has occurred yet for the Serie A champions, who currently sit top of the pile under new manager Simone Inzaghi.
Hakimi is also first in France with PSG, yet hasn’t been producing the same numbers as he did for the Inter.
Lukaku meanwhile has scored just five goals for Chelsea in an injury and covid disrupted campaign.
So, it seems the I Nerazzurri are the real winners in this situation.
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