Chelsea loanee Romelu Lukaku labelled as a “big rip-off” by ex-Inter Milan chief

Chelsea loanee Romelu Lukaku labelled as a ‘big rip-off’ by former Inter Milan president

Speaking on Gianluca Rossi’s YouTube channel (h/t Football.London), former Inter Milan president Massimo Moratti has labelled the return of Romelu Lukaku to San Siro from Chelsea as a ‘big rip-off’.

Lukaku was signed by Chelsea from Inter in the summer window of 2021 for a whopping fee of 97.5. The Belgian international had a stinker of a season at Stamford Bridge.

He also gave a cryptic interview last December where he talked about loving his time in Italy and how he is not happy with the situation in west London. His wish was somewhat approved when Chelsea loaned him back to Inter this summer.

However, the 29-year-old only played 256 minutes of football in all competitions for the Nerazzurri and missed most of the action due to injury.

Here’s what Moratti said regarding Lukaku’s return to San Siro (h/t Football.London):

“We almost forgot the fact that Inter are doing without the player they had based everything on, Lukaku. A big rip-off, he has practically never played.”

Lukaku did not feature in Belgium’s first World Cup game but came on late against Morocco as the European side lost 2-0 to the African giants.

A few weeks ago, Mirror reported that current Chelsea manager Graham Potter is open to taking the 29-year-old back in the team once his loan spell ends. It remains to be seen whether he will stand by his word come the end of this season.

The Blues do have an issue up front with a lack of goals from their number nines since the departure of Diego Costa five years ago. Summer deadline day signing Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has scored only three goals in 12 appearances in all competitions.

Are we convinced that recalling Lukaku would solve the goal-scoring problem? It is highly unlikely. It might be better to look for a permanent deal to get rid of the 29-year-old to get some money back that was spent on him and focus on signing a new striker come the next summer transfer window.

More Chelsea News:

• Club News: Chelsea boss Graham Potter sets first team training plan ahead of Aston Villa friendly
• Chelsea set to miss out on RB Leipzig midfielder Konrad Laimer with Bayern Munich leading the race
• Thiago Silva out to prove the doubters wrong in the World Cup after his Chelsea move was questioned

Aubameyang’s arrival on deadline day this summer meant we had signed a big-name striker in each of our last three summer transfer windows. The Gabon international has been decent but at his age, he can’t be a long-term option.

So, fourth time lucky next summer? That’s what our fans will hope.