Rival legends urge Chelsea to retain faith in superstar loanee

Rio Ferdinand and Owen Hargreaves believe Romelu Lukaku deserves another shot at Chelsea

Romelu Lukaku should be brought back to Chelsea from Inter Milan and given another shot under Graham Potter, according to Rio Ferdinand and Owen Hargreaves.

Under Thomas Tuchel, Chelsea purchased Lukaku from Inter Milan for £97.5 million to address their offensive problems. Unfortunately, the Belgian’s time at Chelsea was unsuccessful, as evidenced by his meagre goal total of 15 across 44 matches for the Blues in his second spell.

The situation deteriorated when Lukaku gave a contentious interview in which he criticised Tuchel and declared his desire to return to Inter. Chelsea tried to sell the striker while finding a way to lend the Belgian back to Inter when Tuchel was still in charge of the team.

The 29-year-old was therefore loaned back to a Serie A team, where he had a season marred by injuries and only managed to score four goals in 14 appearances for Inter Milan in all competitions.

The situation has changed, though, as Chelsea fired Tuchel and hired Potter from Brighton Hove & Albion, as the club is in desperate need of a proven striker. Speaking to BT Sport (h/t Daily Mail), Ferdinand feels Chelsea should bring back Lukaku, who could still be counted on, as he said:

 ‘I think new manager, give him a chance. You’ve got no one in there that you obviously trust at the moment; [Pierre-Emerick] Aubameyang isn’t even in the European squad.”

Meanwhile, Hargreaves also feels the same, as he thinks the 29-year-old has some unfinished business to do, as he stated:

“Nah, no chance, especially when they spent how much? And they don’t have a centre forward. So they’ve got a really good one, just get him fit.”

Bringing once again Lukaku may go one of two ways: either he continues to struggle or he succeeds under Potter’s new leadership. Chelsea now seems to be working a dangerous job.

It is a costly move to bring him back, as evidenced by the fact that he missed much of the season with Inter due to injury and that he didn’t make an impression at Chelsea before that.

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• Chelsea target Victor Osimhen opens the door for a possible summer exit from Napoli
• Chelsea set to battle Tottenham for Brighton striker Evan Ferguson

Todd Boehly and Potter will ultimately decide whether to bring in a new striker or give Lukaku another shot at playing for the Blues.