Gigi Di Biagio believes Romelu Lukaku realised the moment he made the move to Chelsea that it was a mistake. ‘It’s quite romantic that you could tell he still felt he was an Inter player.’
The centre-forward won the Serie A title at San Siro and pushed for a transfer that summer to Stamford Bridge, at a cost of circa €113m.
However, he is now eager to make a return and willing to take a pay cut in order to push through this move on loan.
“It’s really quite romantic that we all got the feeling from the first day that Lukaku wanted to return to Inter straight away,” former Nerazzurri midfielder Di Biagio told Sky Sport Italia.
“You could tell from the way he spoke, the look on his face, he still felt in his heart that he was still an Inter player. Then there was that interview he gave too…”
The 29-year-old has struggled under Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel’s tactics, but still scored 15 goals in 44 competitive games this season.
“Lukaku can still make the difference in Serie A, for his motivation, his desire to wear the jersey, he wants to give something more,” continued Di Biagio.
“He felt like he was the King at Inter, whereas something at Chelsea just wasn’t working.”
Inter and Chelsea are continuing negotiations to get the deal done, although the Italians have reportedly warned they will not go beyond €8m for the one-season loan.
An initial offer of €5m plus bonuses was rejected, with the asking price expected to be €15m, so it remains to be seen if they will be able to agree terms.
Di Biagio: “Lukaku si sentiva ancora un giocatore dell’Inter. In A può spostare tanto” https://t.co/8Shr2ecfgj
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