The future of Romelu Lukaku at both Inter and parent club Chelsea remains in limbo, particularly after the sacking of Graham Potter at Stamford Bridge and the rumoured departure of Simone Inzaghi from San Siro at the end of this season.
The Belgian is contracted to Chelsea until the summer of 2026 and according to Inter CEO Beppe Marotta, he will return to London at the end of this campaign before any further decision is made on the part of the Nerazzurri.
With Frank Lampard now in charge of Chelsea on an interim basis, any of their plans for the summer transfer window will likely be reassessed when a permanent appointment is made.
It’s a similar situation for Inter, who may have to re-strategize if Inzaghi is dismissed of his duties at the end of this season.
The future of Lukaku at San Siro depends largely on who will take over at Chelsea and who will be in charge of Inter at the start of next season.
According to Gazzetta dello Sport, Roberto De Zerbi is the preferred candidate to lead Inter next year, however, he predominantly prefers to play with one singular centre-forward.
With Lautaro Martinez leading Inter’s goalscoring charts by some distance, and with a potential renewal of Edin Dzeko’s contract on the cards, an expensive deal to bring Lukaku back to San Siro for another season would be unlikely.
Another candidate to take charge of the Nerazzurri is Antonio Conte, who has previously enjoyed a good working relationship with Lukaku, having won the Scudetto together in 2020-21.
Another season of Lukaku in Italy would be more likely under Conte than it would under De Zerbi, given their previous and relatively recent success.
Conte is also in the mix to make an extraordinary return to Stamford Bridge, where he might be able to revive Lukaku’s faltering Chelsea career, although with Conte currently at home in Italy with his family, a return to West London would take a lot of convincing.
Then there are the other names tipped to take over at Chelsea, namely Julian Nagelsmann and Luis Enrique.
According to the report in Gazzetta, it is difficult to see either being particularly keen on gambling on Lukaku as their starting striker in the Premier League.
In any case, it is highly unlikely that Inter will be willing to fork out another €20m to acquire Big Rom’s services for another year.
If the club were to inquire about another deal, they would certainly start negotiations at a considerably lower fee than the one that was negotiated last summer.
Whatever happens next could significantly depend on the Conte’s next moves.