Club CEO confirms £97m striker striker will return to Chelsea at the end of the season

Inter Milan director Beppe Marotta has confirmed that Romelu Lukaku “will go back to Chelsea” after a disappointing loan spell in Italy.

The Blues re-signed the Belgium international from Inter in 2021 for a reported then-club-record fee of £97.5million.

After an underwhelming season in which the striker scored just eight Premier League goals, Chelsea agreed to send back to Inter on a season-long loan spell.

The Times previously claimed that Inter and Chelsea had an agreement in principle for Lukaku to remain in Milan for a second year.

However, Inter director Marotta has hinted otherwise.

“I want to underline it was a one-season loan, so he will go back to Chelsea,” the Inter chief told Sky Italia (via Football Italia).

“This is an anomalous season, the problems we have are shared by other clubs, namely that their players took part in this unusual World Cup.

“Lukaku and Brozovic have not fully recovered, and in Lukaku’s case, his physicality and fitness are the key elements of his game.

“He is not at 100 per cent, he is not yet the same Lukaku that we saw in previous years.”

It is easy to see why Inter would be reluctant to extend the loan deal with Chelsea.

Lukaku, who has been struggling with injury problems, has scored just five goals for Inter this season from 17 appearances (nine starts) in all competitions.

The striker’s fitness-related issues mean that Inter have had to mostly rely on Lautaro Martinez and 36-year-old Edin Dzeko.

It remains unclear whether Graham Potter would be interested in integrating the striker into his team, but otherwise, Chelsea would likely have a hard time finding other suitors for him in the summer.