Romelu Lukaku drops major hint about Chelsea future

Romelu Lukaku admits he wants to stay at Inter and “do things right” after a difficult start to his loan spell from Chelsea.

The Belgian returned to the fashion capital of the world last summer after his dream move to Chelsea just a year previously, worth an eye-watering £97.5m, quickly turned sour.

Inter paid around €8m to take Lukaku back to San Siro for a season, but he has been restricted to just five appearances in all competitions because of injury.

The 29-year-old was also unable to impact Belgium’s World Cup campaign, and was clearly short of match fitness as the Red Devils crashed out at the group stage – an exit that saw Roberto Martinez relinquish his job as manager.

Lukaku’s loan back to Inter doesn’t include an option for the 19-time Serie A winners to buy, but in a new interview with Sky Italy, the former Manchester United striker has expressed his desire to leave Chelsea on a permanent basis and also revealed where he hopes to end his career.

“The idea is to finish my career with Anderlecht,” he said. “I’m 30 years old, my son started school here and plays in the Inter academy. I’m fine, Inter always has ambition to continue to grow. I want to stay here and do things right. I hope to do well with Inter in the next six months, work to the max and then in the end we talk to Chelsea and hopefully find a solution.”

On his injury problems during 2022/23, Lukaku added: “I’m working hard with the trainers and with the team: now I have to respond on the pitch. The injury was more serious than expected, I’m usually someone who comes back fast but I had always the feeling that things were not going well.

“For me it’s the first time in 13 years that I miss so many games. I went to the World Cup and played the last game with two training sessions in four months. There was a lot of disappointment after the Croatia but I wasn’t 100%.”