Romelu Lukaku has completed a sensational return to Inter Milan after a nightmare second spell at Chelsea.
The Belgian striker endured a season to forget after re-joining the Blues for £98million last summer as he massively struggled for form on the pitch and also created friction off it with a bombshell interview.
Lukaku, who was greeted by fans at Milan’s airport when he touched down on Tuesday, has now swapped England for Italy – again – by returning to Serie A giants Inter, the side he left for Chelsea last year, on a one-year loan deal.
‘Romelu Lukaku will spend the 2022-23 campaign with Inter Milan after completing a season-long loan,’ Chelsea said in a statement.
Romelu Lukaku has completed a sensational return to Inter Milan on loan from Chelsea
Lukaku endured a torrid time at Stamford Bridge after his £98m move from Inter last summer
The Belgian forward is back at the Italian giants after agreeing a season-long loan deal
Inter CEO Giuseppe Marotta all-but confirmed the deal on Tuesday when he said: ‘We have to thank the availability of the presidency and the owners. I hope it can be closed, not in a few hours, but a few days.’
‘We cannot make it official yet,’ he added. ‘He is a returning player who has done very well with us and we are happy to bring him home.’
The 29-year-old notched just eight Premier League goals in the 2021-22 campaign, failing to live up to the performances that encouraged Chelsea to splash the cash in the first place.
Lukaku’s first spell at Inter began in the summer of 2019 and he fired Antonio Conte’s side to the Scudetto in the 2020-21 season, scoring 24 goals in Serie A.
Yet he made it clear that he wanted to return to Chelsea – who he played for from 2011-2014 – and made his Blues comeback in 2021.
Fitness issues and his infamous Sky Italia interview, released in December and where he admitted he was ‘not happy’ at Chelsea, meant he fell out of favour with manager Thomas Tuchel.
Lukaku did start the FA Cup final against Liverpool but could not score a vital goal to guide the Blues to a trophy this season.
With the World Cup just months away the forward will be aware of the need to play regular football in order to cement his starting spot for Belgium in Qatar.
Lukaku fell out of favour with Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel due to poor form and an interview
Lukaku still has four years left on his contract at Stamford Bridge but stated a desire to return to the San Siro in the…