Inter Milan hoping to keep Romelu Lukaku after talks with Chelsea. (Photo by Marco Luzzani/Getty Images)
As quoted by Metro, Inter Milan legend Beppe Bergomi has labelled Chelsea striker Romelu Lukaku, who is currently on loan at Inter, as embarrassing.
Lukaku joined Chelsea after a successful time at Inter in the summer of 2021 for a whopping fee of £97.5m. The Belgian international had a torrid time at Stamford Bridge and was loaned back to San Siro in the preceding summer.
Since his move back to Italy, the 29-year-old has not lived up to any expectations. He has made just seven appearances in all competitions for the 2021 Serie A champions, scoring two goals and struggling with injuries and form.
Here’s what Bergomi said when asked about Lukaku (h/t Metro):
“When Lukaku came on against Monza, he was simply embarrassing. He couldn’t keep the ball, he seemed scared of it. I don’t know at this point if it is just a matter of his physical condition or his mental state too. It feels like he is carrying with him what happened at the World Cup.”
Lukaku was part of the Belgian squad that got knocked out of the World Cup in the group stage. Having not played much in the first two games, he was brought on at half-time against Croatia to score and get his country through. Instead, he missed four clear-cut chances.
So, he is going to take some time to recover from that before playing anywhere near his best this season. But, his form and physical condition weren’t good even before the tournament in Qatar.
Talent-wise, he has everything a top-class number nine needs – pace, power, finishing ability and good link-up play. However, he has flattered to deceive on more than a few occasions.
His best two seasons were for Inter in 2019/20 and 2020/21 under Antonio Conte. He scored a combined 47 goals and assisted 12 in 72 league appearances.
The 29-year-old’s form in England since his Everton days has not been good. So, is it worth it to keep him when he comes back from his loan spell? Probably not.
But, if he shows the commitment and desire to get his head down and work hard for the team, there is an opening available. It is not as if we are firing on all cylinders this season in his absence, is it?
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