“I belong here”- Chelsea loanee makes his feelings clear as Stamford Bridge return awaits

Romelu Lukaku was confident Inter Milan will get him back after a bad spell at Chelsea and feels he belongs there

Loaned-out Chelsea striker Romelu Lukaku knew Inter Milan would come back to get him after a bad season at Stamford Bridge and feels he belongs there.

Lukaku had an exceptional spell at Inter under Antonio Conte where they won the Scudetto as well. But, in the summer of 2021, Chelsea signed the Belgian international for a deal worth around £97.5m.

After an underwhelming season in West London, Inter signed him back on a season-long loan last summer. Although he started the campaign slowly with injuries not helping the cause, the former Everton striker is slowly coming back to his best.

Here’s what Lukaku said about his confidence in Inter and more (h/t Het Laatste Nieuws, via Daily Mail):

“I was good at Chelsea last season. But I knew then that if it didn’t work out at Chelsea, I still had Inter.

“When I signed again, I knew: I belong here. I had that too at Anderlecht. I take this club seriously. I want to do my best. The people here see that. Being encouraged here is the best thing there is.”

If people wanted clarification on whether Lukaku would want to come back to Chelsea in the summer or stay in Italy, the quotes above give us more than enough to realise the answer.

The irony is that Chelsea are desperate for a number nine and he will be their player once his loan spells end at the climax of this season.

But, it feels like the 29-year-old is more focused on doing the people at Inter proud rather than anything else. If we remember, last season, while he was playing for Chelsea, the Belgian gave a weird interview and told us how much he misses the Nerazzurri.

More Chelsea News:

• Chelsea beat Manchester United and Borussia Dortmund to sign Kendry Paez
• Chelsea loanee Levi Colwill claims he is still focused on Brighton Hove & Albion
• Mason Mount is preparing a goodbye in Chelsea’s last game this weekend

Keeping all these things in mind, it might make no sense for the Blues or the incoming boss Mauricio Pochettino to force Lukaku to give it another shot here. Instead, either loan him out or sell this summer and use that money to buy a quality striker. Doing that will be tough without the attraction of any European football.