Inter Milan CEO Giuseppe Marotta said on-loan striker Romelu Lukaku will return to Chelsea this summer but did not rule out a possible new loan agreement.
Aside from the future of the 31 players Chelsea currently have in their first team, they will also have to make decisions about their loanees.
Lukaku is clearly the highest-profile player on this list.
The west London club will likely wait until a new manager is in charge before making these decisions, but it makes sense to consider re-integrating Lukaku into the team to solve the team’s goalscoring problems.
It remains unclear, however, whether Lukaku himself is willing to return to Chelsea.
Inter chief Marotta suggested that Lukaku would prefer to stay in Italy.
“Lukaku is in love with this club and this city, so these are important elements to consider, but the player does not belong to us,” he told Sky Italia (via Football Italia).
“He is on loan, he will return to Chelsea on June 30 and we will all evaluate the situation together.
“It is important to note that he is a great professional, he has a great sense of belonging, and these are key elements that go alongside the technical and sporting considerations.”
A recent report from The Telegraph claimed that Chelsea will still offer Lukaku an opportunity to revive his career at Stamford Bridge under Mauricio Pochettino, who is now the leading candidate to be their next manager.
If Lukaku were not to be part of Chelsea’s squad next season, however, things might get trickier.
Reports in Italy suggest that Inter would try to negotiate a new loan deal at a lower rate, and Chelsea would likely not have many other options, either.
Lukaku has only registered five goals and five assists from 20 appearances (14 starts) in Serie A this season after dealing with a few injury problems.
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