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Chelsea striker Romelu Lukaku has admitted that leaving Inter Milan and moving to the west London club last summer was a mistake on his part. The Belgian was desperate to return to Italy after failing to live up to the hype at Stamford Bridge, having signed for a club-record fee of €115 million last summer.
Last month, he finally got his wish as the Serie A giants successfully cracked a loan deal for him, paying Chelsea a sum of €8 million as a loan fee. Lukaku did not take long to publicly accept that a move to Stamford Bridge was indeed a mistake.
At an event for the Nerazzurri's jersey launch for the 2022-23 campaign, the striker, while sharing a light-hearted moment with teammate Nicolo Barella, confessed, via Football Italia:
"The biggest challenge of my career will be this season, here. I left. It was a mistake, right Nico? Now I am happy to be wearing this jersey, the team knows what we need to do, it’ll be a great challenge this season and we need to continue like this."
The Chelsea striker suggested that being away from Inter helped him realize their worth and how much they are valued in the world.
“I realised last season when I was in England, just how important Inter are in the world. The club’s profile is improving on an international scale, the social media approach is really important too and you can see how we act in the locker room, in training, our hugs and jokes."
Lukaku further went on to add how attached he and his family are to the city of Milan. The striker did get into trouble in December 2021 when he expressed these feelings and talked up a potential return to the San Siro in the near future in an interview with Sky Italia.
The on-loan Chelsea centre-forward added:
“Milan is a wonderful city and that is why I kept the old apartment when I went to London, because my mother was coming here all the time and I wanted to return too.”
The 29-year old was a shadow of himself at Stamford Bridge compared to his goalscoring exploits at the San Siro in the Nerazzurri colors. He only managed to find the back of the net 15 times in 43 appearances for the Blues across all competitions.
Inter likely to keep Chelsea striker beyond 2023
Although Thomas Tuchel's side have only formally sanctioned a one-year loan for Lukaku, the Serie A side are believed to have persuaded the Blues to extend the Belgian's stay. The two sides have reportedly come to an informal agreement that will see the Nerazzurri keep the striker until 2024 on loan.
Inter will then try to sign the Chelsea forward on a permanent basis. The Italian club are covering all of Lukaku's wages this summer, which has taken some of the burden off the Blues' wage books.
