Chelsea must wish Romelu Lukaku well and hope that their club-record signing succeeds at Inter Milan next season.
The 29-year-old’s return to Italy was finally confirmed on Wednesday evening as he will spend the 2022/23 season at Inter.
Lukaku netted 15 goals for Chelsea in all competitions last term and fell out of favour towards the end of the season.
Advert
Inter will pay €7 million plus add-ons as part of the loan move with there being no clause to purchase the Belgian upon the end of the deal.
Lukaku departs after a hugely underwhelming season on the pitch and a controversial one off it.
Advert
After organising an unauthorised interview with Sky Italia back in December, where Lukaku criticised Thomas Tuchel’s system and made it clear that he wished to return to Italy, he was up against it.
Despite Tuchel’s mask in the media, it looked unlikely that Lukaku would be part of future plans at Stamford Bridge once Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital took over.
Boehly backed Tuchel's decision to offload the Belgian, while Marina Granovskaia and Petr Cech, who have left their roles at the club, were keen to keep him for a further year.
Many of the Chelsea faithful will side with their manager, after all he did win the Champions League without Lukaku in his side.
Advert
While many Blues fans are glad to see the back of their number nine, who made his decision to depart, Chelsea should be hoping the best for the loan move.
Despite the loan move appearing to be a simple one-year deal, with him returning to Chelsea at the end of the campaign, it could be the opportunity to see the Blue cut ties with the 29-year-old for good.
Advert
Reports in Italy have stated that both clubs have made an informal agreement for Lukaku to remain at Inter past his season-long loan.
New regulations in the Serie A prohibit a multi-season loan, which means that the forward will have to impress upon his return to see Inter return for him again next season.
The reports continue to believe that Lukaku could even join his former side on a permanent deal for €46 million after two seasons.
This would allow Chelsea to recoup a large amount of the £97.5 million that Roman Abramovich forked out for the Beligan.
Advert
Therefore, the Blues fans simply must hope that their controversial number nine succeeds once more in Italy.
If not, they face Lukaku joining the likes of Tiemoue Bakayoko, Baba Rahman, Michy Batshuayi among others stuck in the loan system with no suitors.
While the Blues make money sending these players out on loan, they are unlikely to ever recoup the fees paid for them before ultimately losing them for a cut-price or on a free.
Boehly will be keen to ensure that his and Clearlake Capital’s era in London does not pick up on some of the less successful assets of the Abramovich era, with signings failing and losing their value after poor loan spells.
The loan of Lukaku should offer hope to Chelsea fans of the tide changing at Stamford Bridge too, with in the past the managers at the club blamed for unsuccessful performances from huge signings.
Tuchel has been backed, a decision that the Blues faithful seem to agree with and with Raphinha and Raheem Sterling looking like becoming Chelsea players soon, a new era is upon us.
The era without Lukaku, a player who promised so much but delivered so little since his return to Stamford Bridge.
However, now is not the time to wish the forward a failed spell back at the club he so desires.
Instead, the Blues must hope that he proves good enough to convince Inter to one day sign him on a permanent rather than see him back for the annual pre-season run-out before being shipped off and disappearing into the loan system once more.
Featured Image Credit: AlamyTopics: Chelsea, Romelu Lukaku, Inter Milan, Football, Transfers
