Chelsea loanee has no intention of returning to Stamford Bridge in January despite Graham Potter's arrival: Reports
Romelu Lukaku is happy after returning to Inter Milan this summer and has no plans to return to Chelsea when his loan spell ends, as per Football-Italia (h/t LondonWorld).
The Belgium international returned to Stamford Bridge last year in a club-record deal that saw the Blues pay £97.5 million in transfer fees. Things did not go as planned, and he fell out of favor with then-Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel in the second half of the season.
Lukaku finished the 2021-22 campaign with eight goals and one assist in 26 league games. He was notably left out of Chelsea's starting XI in the final of the EFL Cup against Liverpool at Wembley.
The Reds won the encounter via a penalty shoot-out and mirrored that result in the FA Cup final in May 2022. Lukaku was sent on a season-long loan to Inter this summer, and the former Manchester United striker is reportedly happy with his current situation.
He started in the first three Serie A games this season, scoring and assisting one goal each. Since then, he has been sidelined with a muscular problem.
A return to the Giuseppe Meazza Stadium has also seen him reunite with Argentina international Lautaro Martinez. The two combined to score 49 goals across all competitions in the 2020-21 season and helped Inter win the Scudetto for the first time since 2010.
Chelsea also saw Timo Werner leave the club in favor of returning to RB Leipzig two years after leaving them for the Blues. Tuchel oversaw the arrivals of Raheem Sterling and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang to bolster his attack.
However, he was sacked by the club on September 7 and replaced by Graham Potter the very next day.
Chelsea could prioritize signing a winger over a striker in January
According to Fabrizio Romano's CaughtOffside column, the Blues could prioritize signing a winger instead of a centre-forward in the January transfer window.
Romano wrote:
"They signed Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang on Deadline Day … so honestly I think it could be about the wingers more than central strikers in January, as they also have Armando Broja, an excellent young player."
However, the Blues are expected to solidify their transfer plans after the end of the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.
The Italian transfer expert continued:
“But Chelsea haven’t made any decision yet, it will be during the World Cup and not now, as they’re still waiting for a new director after the crazy Christoph Freund story.”
Their immediate priority could be appointing a new sporting director after rumored target Christoph Freund announced that he would not be joining the Blues.