Chelsea and Inter Milan have an agreement in principle for Lukaku on a two-year loan stint at the San Siro. The Italian giants had agreed to a year-long loan deal with the west London giants before the latest agreement.
After a successful campaign under Thomas Tuchel that saw Chelsea win the UEFA Champions League, the London giants decided to strengthen their attack. The idea was to win the English Premier league and successfully defend their UCL title.
The west London club beefed up their attack financially and size-wise. They signed Romelu Lukaku from Inter Milan for a club-record fee. It turned Chelsea into firm favourites for the English Premier League, but it was an experiment that failed badly.
Whether the blame should be on Tuchel or Lukaku is beside the point – the crux of the matter is that performances did not match the expectations, and Chelsea failed to win any title in a season that went badly. Lukaku asked to return to Inter Milan and finally got his wish as Chelsea agreed to a year loan deal for the Belgian striker. The latest reports suggest the loan period is actually for two years.
Lukaku to play at Inter on a two-season loan
While there was plenty of back and forth between Inter and Chelsea over the loan signing of Romelu Lukaku, the player was adamant there was no way he would play at Stamford Bridge this season. Todd Boehly had to step in and decide the best option was for the player to leave the club.
After an initial deal that would see Lukaku play at Inter for a season, Chelsea have agreed to let the Belgium frontman remain at the club for another season. With Inter Milan unable to raise funds for an outright buy-out, both clubs agreed to an extra season on loan at Inter.
Last month, Inter Milan agreed to a deal with Chelsea to allow the Belgium international to feature for them with the Serie A club an €8 million (£6.9m) loan fee. The initial agreement was for just a year-long loan deal, but there has been a twist to the tale.
According to The Telegraph, both clubs have agreed in principle that Lukaku continues at the San Siro for two seasons.
Inter to re-sign Lukaku permanently after two years
The latest Telegraph report on the Lukaku deal has raised questions. It suggests that the dream of succeeding at Chelsea is over for Lukaku. The report opines that Chelsea is hopeful that at the expiration of the two-year loan deal, Inter would be on a solid financial footing and thus in a better position to make an outright purchase of the Belgian.
Chelsea shelled out a club-record fee of £97.5 million for Lukaku. It turned out to be a failed experiment, and the player would have two years left on his contract when his two-year loan spell at Inter expires.
In a statement last week, Lukaku did not hold back as he described his decision to join the Blues last summer as a mistake.
Lukaku claims to be happy back at Inter Milan. According to the big Belgium frontman, he is excited to be wearing the Inter jersey again, and he said the team knows what they need to do to challenge for the title this season.
Despite his poor season at Chelsea, Tuchel claims he was open to keeping Lukaku at Chelsea. The German tactician claims there was never a meeting where he said he wanted Lukaku out of the club.
