Glen Johnson thinks Romelu Lukaku should leave Chelsea this summer despite spending less than 12 months in his second spell at the west London club. The Blues striker re-signed for the club for a record £97.5million from Inter Milan last summer but somewhat struggled in his first season back in England.
Lukaku scored 15 goals in all competitions, so on the surface, it may not have looked as if the Belgian struggled. However, after a scathing interview with Sky Italia towards the end of last year, the striker struggled to win back the Chelsea supporters after that.
Now, with the summer transfer window almost upon us, football.london understands Lukaku is pushing for a move away from Stamford Bridge this summer. Chelsea, though, will not do the striker any favours in terms of facilitating a transfer away, with the finances having to be appropriate in order to sanction a move.
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Lukaku, who is without an agent right now, recently instructed his lawyer to try and make a swift return to Inter Milan a possibility. Inter chief executive, Giuseppe Marotta, was recently asked about re-signing Lukaku and the possibility of Paulo Dybala joining. He said: "From our side, there is no anxiety.
"We don't have to do anything in a hasty way. The hope is that Dybala can play with us."
Former Chelsea right-back Johnson has been speaking about the situation with the club's record signing and believes it's best for everyone involved if he calls time on his second spell at the Blues. "I personally would want to go again next season and prove myself, but I feel with Lukaku that he's had a whole season to show that sort of courage and he hasn't," Johnson said to bettingodds.com.
"I can't see anything changing next season. If he was the sort of player that can stand up and show courage next season, then I think we would have already seen hints of that. I can see him settling elsewhere because if he has that type of courage to bounce back in pre-season, then he should have had the courage to bounce back during his first season. I don't see him bouncing back next season, so maybe a move somewhere else is best for both parties."
Thomas Tuchel handed Lukaku more of an opportunity towards the end of the 2021/22 season, with the 29-year-old striker starting three of Chelsea's last four Premier League matches. In that time, the Belgium international netted three times. His return in the final few games made it seem as if Lukaku would stick around for one more season at least, but it seems as if he doesn't want this to be the case.
Chelsea are in the market for a new attacker, but that could quickly become two forwards if Lukaku does leave. Ousmane Dembele is of significant interest to the Blues, as is Christian Nkunku.
football.london understands there have been positive signals coming out of Dembele's camp regarding a move to Chelsea. Meanwhile, there is a long-term interest in Nkunku, who is currently in negotiations with RB Leipzig over signing a new deal at the Red Bull Arena.
