Mauricio Pochettino is planning to speak with Romelu Lukaku once he returns to Chelsea from his loan spell at Inter Milan. The Argentine will look to assess the entire squad at his disposal ahead of next season before making any decisions on who will be sold and who will stay at Stamford Bridge.
football.london reported last week that an agreement had been reached between the Blues and Pochettino for the 51-year-old to become the Blues' new head coach. The Belgian has scored five goals and provided a further three assists in his last four Serie A appearances, putting him in contention to start Tuesday night’s Champions League semi-final second-leg with AC Milan.
The Belgian forward has been hampered by injuries throughout the 2022/23 campaign after returning to the San Siro on loan, following a disappointing season at Stamford Bridge. Lukaku completed a £98million move to Chelsea in 2021 but quickly fell out of favour under Thomas Tuchel before pushing for a return to Inter a year later.
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There remain question marks over the 30-year-old's future at Stamford Bridge but Pochettino is expected to speak with Lukaku before deciding if he is sold or kept by the club. Inter boss Simone Inzaghi has praised the Belgium international for finally delivering the form he had hoped after missing 18 games for the Italian giants in all competitions this term.
“You know what Lukaku can do and as a coach I had brought him back in with enthusiasm after the last month,” Inzaghi told reporters following the Belgian's brace against Sassuolo at the weekend. “This is what he should have given us all year.
"But, unfortunately, there were unforeseen circumstances for him and for [Marcelo] Brozovic, who were taken away from us for five months. The team had to suffer without them.”
Lukaku came off the bench in Inter ’s Champions League semi-final first-leg win over Milan and Inzaghi has refused to be drawn on whether the striker will step into the line-up for the return fixture. “I have an idea in mind for training," the Italian said.
"I'll have to evaluate carefully and tomorrow I'll decide calmly. We know we've worked hard over the past 10 months, we’re close to a dream that can come true, but we still need one last effort.”
Lukaku has registered the same amount of goal contributions as he did at Chelsea last season (17) with Inter this term, but in 13 less games. The Belgian's injury woes this season may be a concern for Pochettino, with the Argentine keen on bringing in a new world-class striker ahead of the 2023/24 campaign.
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