Chelsea, Inter Milan both ‘convinced’ Romelu Lukaku wants to leave, but exit ‘unlikely’ — report

This time last year, talk of a potential return to Stamford Bridge for Romelu Lukaku began in earnest. Chances of it happening were seen as unlikely at best, but things can change pretty quickly in football. And sure enough, by mid-August, Lukaku was pulling on the Blue shirt once again, ready to fulfill the destiny that was preordained over a decade prior.

Obviously, things haven’t quite worked out in such storybook fashion.

So here we are again, this time with talk of a potential return to Inter Milan picking up in earnest. Chances of it happening are seen as “unlikely” at best however, especially without a bottomless purse to loosen its strings behind the scenes. But things can change pretty quickly in football.

And for what it’s worth, reports in Italy and now in England, too, all seem to agree that Lukaku very much wants this to happen. The 29-year-old himself isn’t talking, for once, but as Jason Burt reports in the Telegraph, “senior sources at both [Chelsea and Inter Milan] are convinced he wants to quit [and] return to Italy”.

Unlike Chelsea, Inter cannot pay a nine-figure sum to make this happen. They may not even be able to pay a significant loan fee, nor could they match his enormous wages. I guess the question then becomes, just how badly Lukaku wants this happen and just how creative we can get with the finances behind the scenes. Agreeing a paycut is one thing. But Chelsea aren’t just going to write off a £100m transfer mistake that easily.