Inter Milan CEO Alessandro Antonello has confirmed Romelu Lukaku wants a return to the Italian team this summer and says he is hopeful of finally agreeing a deal with Chelsea.
The Blues spent almost £100million to sign the Belgium striker from Inter last summer, but Lukaku wants to return to the Serie A after struggling at Stamford Bridge.
Lukaku was tipped to challenge for the Golden Boot award heading into the 2021-22 season but finished the campaign with only eight goals.
He conceded during the campaign that he felt he had unfinished business at Inter and was less than pleased with his role under Thomas Tuchel.
Recent reports claim Tuchel and Chelsea’s new owners have agreed to sell Lukaku but it remains to be seen whether Inter can finally reach an agreement with the Premier League club.
Asked about Lukaku’s future on Thursday, Inter chief Antonello said: ‘Certainly there is the great desire of the player to return, the economic-financial feasibility must be verified and some technical problems must be solved. ‘By June 30? We’ll try to do it in the correct timeframe.’
Inter Milan are also in discussions to sign Argentina forward Paulo Dybala, who will be a free agent once his Juventus contract expires at the end of the month.
Dybala has scored 115 goals in 293 games for Juventus, helping the Italian club win five Serie A titles and reach the UEFA Champions League final in 2017.
Inter’s Antonello added: ‘It is fundamental to combine competitiveness on the pitch and economic-financial sustainability. ‘This is the work we are doing, all the choices the club will make on the market will always be inspired by these words.
‘We want to be competitive on the pitch, but on the other hand we must also respect the stakes that UEFA is drawing on Financial Fair Play in this transitional period towards the new rules.
‘Everything can be done, but with great consideration for economic and financial sustainability.’
