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| (L-R) Romelu Lukaku of FC Internazionale speaks with president of FC Internazionale Steven Zhang at FC Internazionale headquarters on June 29, 2022 in Milan, Italy. |
Romelu Lukaku returned to Inter Milan on
Wednesday after completing a season-long loan move from Chelsea just a year
after his flop transfer from Italy to the Premier League club.
Belgium striker Lukaku will be reunited with his
former fans at the San Siro after Chelsea agreed to a reported deal in which
Inter will pay an initial eight million euros plus a potential three million in
bonuses for the loan.
The London club issued a statement confirming a
"season-long loan move".
Parla Romelu 🗣➡️
— Inter (@Inter) June 29, 2022
Qui l'intervista completa 👉 https://t.co/TuYURQqemd pic.twitter.com/oCc9XDnWyB
His return was made official in a video posted on
Inter's social media channels with Lukaku saying "we're back baby"
while talking to chairman Steven Zhang on the roof of the club's headquarters.
The 29-year-old will again lead Inter's attack as
they attempt to regain the Serie A title after taking a reported pay cut to 8.5
million euros for the coming campaign.
Italian media report that Inter and Chelsea have a
gentleman's agreement that the loan could be extended for another season should
the move work out, and his lawyer Sebastien Ledure said on Wednesday that
"anything can happen" between now and the end of next season.
"It's really emotional," Lukaku later said
on Inter's TV channel.
"Inter have given me a lot and I hope that from
now I can do even better than before... I didn't give up my home when I left
for England and I think that tells you something."
Lukaku told reporters present for his arrival at
Milan's Linate airport in the early hours of Wednesday that he was
"very happy" to be back.
He was greeted by delighted fans on his way to
completing his medical tests in the afternoon, his car blocked by supporters
chanting his name and "win us the Scudetto".
Lukaku left London after failing to make an
impression for a second time at Chelsea, not meeting high expectations
following a £97.5 million move from Inter last summer.
He made himself a fan favourite over two years at
Inter after scoring 64 times in 95 games and driving them to their first Serie A
title in more than a decade, the 2021 Scudetto ending both an
11-year drought and Juventus' grip on Italian football.
However the financial problems of Inter's owners the
Suning Group, exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic, led to coach Antonio Conte
leaving the club almost as soon as the title was won.
With Conte's replacement Simone Inzaghi just weeks
into his new job Lukaku followed Conte out of the door when then-European
champions Chelsea offered a huge sum which eased some of Inter's money
problems, issues which mean a loan was the only way he could return.
He failed to reproduce his Serie A form with the
Blues and infuriated Chelsea fans by conducting an interview with Sky Sport
Italia in December in which he said he wanted to return to Inter.
Those comments also led Inter's hardcore ultras to
say they weren't interested in having him back, considering his move to Chelsea
a betrayal of his claim to love the Milanese club.
They told other fans not to welcome Lukaku back as
he was now "just one of many", instructions which were ignored by
those who camped outside in the scorching summer sun while the striker finished
his medicals at the Milan offices of the Italian Olympic Committee.
Inter are still trying to cut costs, with star
defender Milan Skriniar reportedly set to be sold this summer while an
overloaded and highly-paid forward line also needs to be trimmed.
They will benefit from legislation which offers
significant tax cuts for foreign residents under certain conditions, but
Lukaku's arrival has stalled Inter's bid to bring in Argentina forward and free
agent Paulo Dybala.
