Romelu Lukaku has revealed it was when Chelsea made their third bid to Inter Milan that he changed his mind over making a return to his former club.
The Belgian star endured a tough period at Manchester United under Solskjaer, who deemed Lukaku incompatible with the style of football he was trying to implement at the club.
Lukaku subsequently joined Inter and, under Antonio Conte, his confidence was restored and rebuilt his reputation as one of Europe’s best strikers.
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The Chelsea star spearheaded Inter’s Serie A title-winning campaign last season, and he remained committed to the Serie A side, despite their financial plight.
Chelsea had identified the Belgian, who failed to make the grade in London after arriving as a raw teenager from Anderlecht, as the ideal player to fill the hole in the squad.
The Blues made a number of offers for Lukaku over the course of the summer window, offering Marcos Alonso and Davide Zappacosta in part exchange, and it wasn’t until the third time that he took matters into his own hands and asked Simone Inzaghi, to help him seal a return to the Bridge.
‘When Chelsea made their third offer I knew it was serious and I was no longer with my head in Milan,’ Lukaku told HLN.
‘Chelsea offered €110m plus Zappacosta, but Inter said no. So I told Inzaghi: Inter pulled me out of shit but I wanna leave only because of Chelsea.
‘I didn’t want to go behind Inter’s back. They got me out of the shit. I was in a deep hole at Man United.
‘After training I went to Inzaghi’s office. I didn’t want to ruin the atmosphere because I was no longer with my head in Milan. So I asked him: please find an agreement.’
