Inter striker Romelu Lukaku scored more goals than the entire Chelsea squad combined in February.
With his 86th-minute winner in Inter’s 1-0 victory over Porto in the Champions League Round of 16, Romelu Lukaku claimed his second goal for the month of February. His first came four days earlier after slotting home a 20th-minute penalty during the Nerazzurri’s 3-1 win over Udinese at the Giuseppe Meazza.
Meanwhile Chelsea, Lukaku’s parent club, have been struggling in front of goal in the early stages of 2023.
In February, Atletico Madrid loanee Joao Felix bagged Chelsea’s only goal of the month across all competitions.
Despite the West Londoners’ lavish spending sprees over recent transfer windows, the feeling is that Graham Potter’s side have been left without a natural goalscorer in their ranks.
Lukaku is still contracted to Chelsea until the summer of 2026 and will be back at Stamford Bridge in the summer.
However, speaking to Sky Sport Italia after the defeat to Bologna on Sunday, Inter’s CEO for Sport, Beppe Marotta admitted that Lukaku wants to stay at the Stadio Meazza beyond the end of his current loan agreement.
“Talking about that now is premature. He will return to Chelsea in June and then a new scenario will open up and we’ll see what to do then.
“He wants to stay, we’ll see if we want to negotiate a return to us.”
Lukaku rejoined Chelsea in the summer of 2021 for a fee of €113m; a club record for both sides involved.
Belgium’s all-time top scorer has also accumulated more than any other player in the history of the sport in transfer fees throughout his career.
With over three years left on his current contract, Inter will undoubtedly have to fork out again if Lukaku were to leave Stamford Bridge again on a permanent deal.