Chelsea striker Romelu Lukaku is pushing to leave the club.
The Lowdown: Disappointing Transfer
It started off with so much promise.
The 29-year-old joined the Blues in a £97.5m deal last summer and there was an expectation that he would take the west London club to the next level.
He came off the back of scoring 24 goals and providing 11 assists to fire Inter Milan to the Scudetto, winning Serie A Footballer of the Year in the process.
However, this did not materialise, as he only scored eight league goals in 26 appearances.
To make matters worse, the Belgium international gave a controversial interview where he said he “not happy with the situation” at Stamford Bridge and that he wanted to return to Inter at some point in the near future.
The Latest: Lukaku Wants Out
According to transfer journalist Fabrizio Romano, the £63m-rated striker has told the Blues that he wants to leave, with Inter being the only place he wants to go to.
The Italian club are also pushing for the move to happen, with talks ongoing between the two clubs over a loan deal.
“Inter are pushing to sign Romelu Lukaku this summer. The Belgian striker is now insisting with Chelsea to leave the club, he only wants Inter move,” he tweeted.
“Talks ongoing on the potential loan fee between the two clubs, while Lukaku would be ready to reduce his salary.”
The £350k-per-week star is reportedly prepared to take a wage cut to make the move happen.
The Verdict: Won’t be Missed
The Antwerp-born forward had a great start to life at Stamford Bridge, scoring three goals in his first three league games.
After he scored the winner against Zenit St Petersburg in the Champions League, Thomas Tuchel hailed the 2021 Serie A MVP as a “world-class striker”.
“We did not create many chances for Romelu, but he’s the type of guy who does not lose confidence or belief and that’s why he’s here; that’s why he’s a world-class striker.
“It’s super hard, and super important to be able to do that. It’s as easy as that. You don’t find many strikers of that quality.”
Since then it has not been good. Out of all the players in Tuchel’s side to have made over ten league appearances this season, only five have a lower WhoScored rating than the former Manchester United attacker.
Furthermore, if he doesn’t score then the 6 foot 3 number nine does not offer much else. He is in the bottom 5% of all forwards in Europe’s top five leagues in assists and tackles, and the bottom 1% for interceptions, suggesting that he does not do the dirty work required for Tuchel in the final third.
Therefore, Chelsea will surely not miss Lukaku if he does leave the club.
AND in other news, Thomas Tuchel wants “phenomenal” £13.5m-rated gem to replace wantaway star at Chelsea…
