Inter star striker Lautaro Martinez admits he missed Romelu Lukaku: ‘I am happy he’s back.’
The Belgian forward returned to the Stadio Meazza on loan from Chelsea, ten months after his €113m move to Stamford Bridge.
He had failed to justify his price tag in London, scoring just 15 goals in 44 appearances with the Blues.
“I am happy he’s back, I missed him,” Lautaro told Cronache di Spogliatoio.
“Last year I couldn’t play against him online because my daughter was born and I had to sleep at night.
“Inter fans are special,” the Argentinean striker continued.
“I feel lucky because fans from other clubs also praise me, which means football can go on without the need to argue. I have so much fun with Marcelo Brozovic and Nicolò Barella. They’re like dynamite. We make jokes inside the dressing room. They remain private but make me laugh so much.”
Lautaro has recently extended his contract with Inter until June 2026. Despite Lukaku’s absence, El Toro still managed 25 goals in 49 appearances across all competitions with the Nerazzurri in 2021-22.
Overall, he has netter 74 goals in 179 games with the Serie A giants since his €25m move from Racing in the summer of 2018.
Lukaku admitted on Thursday that joining Chelsea ‘was a mistake’ while the Blues’ boss Thomas Tuchel says he doesn’t know whether the former Manchester United star will return to the club following his loan move to Inter.
Lukaku scored 64 goals in 95 appearances during his first spell at Inter.
Lautaro is a complete forward technically. He’s only lacking ruthless poacher instinct. If he manages to improve on this, he can be a 30-40 goals/season striker, like aguero/higuain or even better.
Hopefully him and lukaku will stay for many years to come.