Romelu Lukaku remains Chelsea’s most expensive signing, after sealing a mega deal following a £97.5m move from Inter Milan.
Lukaku was expected to be the main man for Chelsea, and the team’s missing piece – and his wages of £325k a week clearly showed that.
It didn’t work out well for the Belgian, and after one season at Chelsea, he decided on a return to his former stomping ground, Inter Milan.
Lukaku finished the 2021/22 campaign with just 15 goals from 44 appearances, and 8 goals in the Premier League.
Lukaku’s stats weren’t befitting of his status and his transfer fee, and reports claim his relationship with Thomas Tuchel wasn’t all that great.
Lukaku didn’t seem suited to Thomas Tuchel’s playing style, and it seemed to have dented their relationship.
According to Nizaar Kinsella, Goal’s Chelsea correspondent, Blues boss Thomas Tuchel made a cheeky comment to Lukaku about his former manager Antonio Conte while the pair watched a Tottenham Hotspur game – and it apparently didn’t go down well at all with Lukaku.
Kinsella said on the Italian Football Podcast: “Somebody told me… Romelu Lukaku was chatting to Thomas Tuchel watching a Spurs Premier League match, and Tuchel said ‘there’s your daddy’ about Antonio Conte. It was just a joke, but it didn’t go down very well.”
Lukaku has since made it clear that he was ready to leave Chelsea.
In December, Lukaku told Sky in Italy he wanted to return to Inter one day, saying: “I really hope in the depths of my heart to return to Inter, not at the end of my career, but at a still good level to hopefully win more.”
If we fail to sell Lukaku on a good price next season then let him remain as surplus in the Chelsea squard.