Romelu Lukaku apepars to have played his last game for Chelsea. (Photo by VIRGINIE LEFOUR/BELGA MAG/AFP via Getty Images)
According to The Athletic (subscription required) (h/t Daily Mail), Chelsea instantly regretted the decision to let striker Romelu Lukaku go to Inter Milan in the summer.
A year after signing the Belgian international from the Nerazzurri for a whopping £97.5m fee, the Blues loaned him back to San Siro during the summer transfer window.
The 29-year-old had a disappointing season at Stamford Bridge though, where he scored only eight goals in 26 league appearances. He did not help his cause by giving out a cryptic interview last December about having problems at Chelsea and his love for Inter.
Despite taking the striker who led them to a Scudetto win in 2021 though, Inter are shocked and alarmed at how the Belgian has declined physically.
In the first half of this season, Lukaku only played a total of 256 minutes for the Serie A side before going to the World Cup with his national team. The 29-year-old missed the first game in Qatar and came on very late in the defeat against Morocco.
In a must-win game against Croatia, he was brought on at half-time and looked short on confidence and quality. The former Everton man ended up missing four clear-cut chances that would have put Belgium into the knockout rounds. Instead, they are out now.
We can understand what Chelsea are thinking because of the lack of goals from their forward line this season. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who was signed on the deadline day of the summer window, has scored only three goals in 12 games in all competitions for the Blues so far.
However, as much as goals are hard to come by from the available strikers in the squad, having seen Lukaku this season and last, it would not have made much difference, would it? So, it might be a good idea to look for a new centre-forward in the upcoming transfer windows.
We have spent well when it comes to recruiting strikers in recent years. It’s about time we carefully consider the next signing in that area and go for a player that can sort out our attacking worries for the next 5-7 years.
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