Chelsea need a new striker this summer. (Photo by JUSTIN TALLIS/AFP via Getty Images)
According to the Italian news outlet Calciomercato via Football Italia (h/t The Sun), Chelsea star Romelu Lukaku will be required to reduce his wages by half to facilitate a return to Inter Milan. His second spell at Stamford Bridge has been a disappointment, having failed to impose his authority whenever he was given opportunities.
Lukaku is already looking to return to Italy following his failed tenure with the Blues. He joined them last summer in a record move that cost £97.5million in transfer fees. However, he has supposedly held video calls with Inter hierarchy regarding a potential return in the future.
The Serie A club were initially unwilling to entertain a reunion, although they are starting to change their minds recently. The Belgian will need to reduce his £325,000-a-week wages due to their financially stricken situation. The striker must reduce his salary by half to just £5.5million per annum to push for a return.
The 28-year-old’s recent cameo in the 1-0 win against West Ham United in the Premier League was one of his better performances in this term so far. But, it is far too early to suggest that he can finally become a success with us. However, talks of an exit should be taken with a pinch of salt as he has not enjoyed even one full season with us.
However, following Kai Havertz’s rise and Timo Werner’s recent form, it would not be surprising if the West London side would decide to cut costs with Lukaku. After all, that could favour us to an extent if we could relieve our wage bill of the huge financial liability that we have to endure while employing the latter.
However, recouping what he paid for Lukaku could be a difficult task indeed due to his poor run of form. Moreover, the Nerazzurri’s dire finances do not help in any case either. Fortunately, Paris Saint-Germain is still an option for the striker, which could play a part should he decide to move to France.
It is still far too early to deem Lukaku as a complete disaster, considering how Havertz himself had a difficult first season with us. Werner was in a similar boat, and he took more time to even show a glimpse of his quality consistently. As such, it may not be wise to pull the plug with the former Inter man right now.
Lukaku could still turn things around, but if an exit is being contemplated, Thomas Tuchel’s side must only facilitate a move if we can recoup a large part of the big investment that we made. Whether that will happen or not, though, would need to be seen moving forward.
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