Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel confirms Romelu Lukaku wanted to leave Chelsea and is unsure about his return: ‘He’s on loan, but…’
The Belgian striker has returned to Inter 10 months after his €113m move to Chelsea. He had struggled to settle in at Stamford Bridge under the German tactician scoring only 15 goals in 44 appearances.
He is now back at Inter on a loan deal worth €8m.
“We decided together with the owners that we’d let him go,” Tuchel told Sky Sports UK, as quoted by the Mail online.
“It was his wish to go, he had the possibility, we let him go.
“We brought now Raheem Sterling, which gives us a lot of flexibility, a lot of mobility, a lot of attacking options at the front, even if we don’t recruit more players.”
Inter don’t have an option to buy Lukaku permanently next summer, but according to multiple reports in Italy, Chelsea and Inter have already discussed a possible new loan for 2023-24.
“Given the fact he’s just on loan, of course there’s a chance,’ continued Tuchel, when asked about Lukaku’s potential return to the club.
“I don’t know if it’s very likely, but it’s not on me to give an outlook on that. There is a chance for it.”
Lukaku openly admitted during an event on Thursday night that joining Chelsea from Inter in the summer of 2021 was a mistake.
“Now I am happy to be wearing this jersey, the team knows what we need to do, it’ll be a great challenge this season and we need to continue like this,” said the Belgium international.
“I realised last season when I was in England, just how important Inter are in the world. The club’s profile is improving on an international scale, the social media approach is really important too and you can see how we act in the locker room, in training, our hugs and jokes.”
Lukaku scored 64 goals in 95 appearances under Antonio Conte during his first two-year spell at Inter, winning the Serie A title in his second season at the Stadio Meazza.