Inter Milan appear more open to the idea of Romelu Lukaku returning to the San Siro, after higher-ups previously appeared to be less keen on such a move.
Lukaku recorded an impressive 64 goals across two seasons with the Nerazzurri, helping them win the Serie A title in 2020-21 and earning a summer move to Chelsea. However, since that switch - which set the London side back a club record £97.5m - things haven't quite gone to plan.
The Belgian international has found the net just five times in the Premier League, though he remains Chelsea's top scorer across all competitions. After a public airing of grievances before the turn of the year, he is no longer an automatic pick for manager Thomas Tuchel, and talk of a summer switch has gathered pace.
According to La Gazzetta dello Sport (via Football Italia ), Inter's directors are no longer ruling out a summer return for Lukaku, who joined the club from Manchester United in 2019. However, rather than a permanent switch, the report suggests the higher-ups would merely entertain a loan return.
There is a secondary element to Lukaku's situation, namely that a lack of game time with Chelsea could impact his hopes of leading Belgium to World Cup glory. The 28-year-old is Belgium's all-time leading scorer, with 68 goals, but international boss Roberto Martinez is reluctant to make a call on the player until the autumn.
"I’m not going to judge or assess the condition of any player until after the summer because it is not a normal situation," Martinez said "It is still seven months to the World Cup and probably you will go into the details of how a player feels when it gets closer to it than now."
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Gazzetta dello Sport has also claimed (via Sport Witness ) that Lukaku has "[re]opened the channel for weeks" with his former club which reportedly go beyond "a courtesy WhatsApp or nostalgic calls to old teammates," while also holding private talks with Martinez. However, Inter are said to be in a financial situation where they are prepared to wait and see what develops at Stamford Bridge over the summer.
Lukaku last started a Premier League game for Chelsea on February 19, away at Crystal Palace. He played the final 25 minutes on Saturday as the Blues lost to Brentford, but manager Tuchel has regularly preferred to use Kai Havertz in a central attacking role and recently heaped more praise on the German international.
“What he gives us is huge volume,” Tuchel said in March after Havertz scored twice in Chelsea's Premier League win at Burnley.. “He covers a lot of metres, he covers a lot of metres in high intensity, so he finds the intensity no matter what the system the opponent defends against us, he finds intensive runs, he finds distances."
