Romelu Lukaku - What Happened?
My thoughts on Romelu Lukaku's latest interview on his future at Inter Milan
Chelsea fans by now would have all seen the latest interview that Romelu Lukaku conducted whilst away on international duty. It seems to be a recurrent theme that the Belgian players wait for their national team camps in order to reveal the true truth behind their futures, interesting indeed…
So, what did Lukaku exactly say?
"I am staying," he told Belgian TV. "I feel good at Inter."
Inter's Chinese owners Suning are seeking to cut costs, a move that led to manager Antonio Conte quitting last week. Former Lazio boss Simone Inzaghi is expected to take charge at Inter.
"I've already had contact with the man who becomes our new manager," he told Belgian station VTM. "Maybe I shouldn't say that yet. It was a very positive conversation. There's also the challenge of doing it again (winning the league)."
Immediately, Chelsea twitter went into a frenzy of panic, submitting themselves to the fact our “top” target is now unavailable. The transfer window hasn’t even opened yet, the transfer game however never stops.
Upon watching the interview a couple of times, plus checking in with my same sources who told me originally Chelsea were placing Lukaku at the top of their shopping list a while back (found here) here’s what could have happened in the past few days and what to expect moving forward…
Chelsea was disgruntled by the financial package wanted by Inter, Lukaku + his agent, with Lukaku being 28 years old, a hefty financial outlay for someone this age isn’t exactly smart business. Whilst I reported a fee of around £70-80 million could get a deal done, this is before all of the player add-ons, agent fees etc. With that said, Lukaku would’ve been made aware of this and painted the picture of the hero now, in turn, telling the Inter fans he would be staying.
A plea to come and get me? Lukaku is known for an incredible need to ‘feel wanted’ by his manager and club. We have seen this with his time at Chelsea previously, his time at Manchester United falling under this umbrella too. There is a case that perhaps Lukaku is antagonising Chelsea to come and get him, seeing as Chelsea typically take their time in transfer negotiations/pursuits and are always assessing other options.
Maybe unlikely to many, but possible? Perhaps Lukaku is willing to fight for another Scudetto without his beloved Antonio Conte. Lukaku is a player full of pride and self-belief, plus he has already spoken to new manager Simeone Inzaghi and will be the main man under the Italian. Lukaku is known to be happy in Italy, he certainly won’t be forcing a move as I’ve always said unless Inter Milan do not strengthen further or a top club pursues him heavily.
For what it’s worth, I am told to continue to keep an eye on this saga. Despite Lukaku’s recent comments, Chelsea has kept communicative lines open with the player’s representatives and deem it too early to give up on a potential deal, especially if they cannot get their other prized target in Erling Haaland.
Further to this, Inter’s president has been quoted saying some interesting things regarding needing to make money after struggling through the pandemic…
“Last summer the pandemic had greatly affected our revenues but we continued with him [Conte], focusing on the season convinced that we could win,” said the Inter president.
“The decision was right [for Conte to leave], but now the bill brought by the pandemic is such that we cannot fail to review the situation by looking for savings that lead to a future budget balance.
“We must reduce costs and control risks. This obviously also influences the transfer market strategy. Our different views on the situation led to the separation.”
We think this is far from over….
Chelsea is very much still prioritising a marquee centre forward signing, a dream of the board mostly but also Tuchel. However, they are also looking at the financial aspect of their transfer dealings, and simply will not blow cash for the sake of it when better deals may be available (Erling Haaland being younger, spreading costs over a number of years, etc.) Plus, Tuchel has told the board they need to strengthen 2-3 other areas, so we must take that into account also, especially when you look at the price of our other targets.
For now, try to continuing enjoying the Champions League win, support your country in the European Championships and keep an eye on potential players linked to the club in the coming weeks, for fun. I anticipate Chelsea doing their business during the back end/after these championships. In transfer dealings at this level, with it being Chelsea Football Club sprinkled on top, there will be a lot of twists and turns for sure.
Written by Dan McCarthy - @MaccaSport