Romelu Lukaku was already thinking about a move to Chelsea during his final campaign at Manchester United, the striker’s agent has revealed.
The Belgium international returned to Stamford Bridge last summer after Chelsea agreed to meet Inter Milan’s £97m asking price for the player.
It’s not the first time the London club have tried to re-sign Lukaku, as Antonio Conte was interested in signing Lukaku in 2017.
But, Lukaku chose to join Jose Mourinho’s Manchester United in a £75million deal from Everton.
But Lukaku spent just only seasons at the club and he lost form and confidence during his final campaign at Old Trafford, only for Conte to cure his problems at Inter.
Chelsea’s interest came late in the transfer window and Lukaku had looked set to remain at the San Siro, even after Conte’s exit.
But Lukaku’s agent has revealed that the player was contemplating a return to Chelsea long before this summer and thought about rejoining the club during his final season with United in the 18/19 season.
‘During his last season at Man United he always had Chelsea in his head,’ Federico Pastorello told Sky Sports.
‘Real Madrid as well I have to admit. That is another dream of his in terms of imagining his career, but Chelsea was always 100 per cent his target.
‘They were the love of his childhood so there was always this desire to come back. It was a question of pride. He had that in his head and his heart.’
Lukaku was settled in Italy and was ready to work with Simone Inzaghi. But, Inter’s financial issues meant they couldn’t turn down £97m for Lukaku and his agent admits his client had to be ready to move.
‘The market can offer you certain opportunities. I consider them like trains passing and when the right train stops at the right place, you need to step in and leave,’ said Pastorello.
‘I could tell summer 2021 would be an important market for him. Three or four top clubs were looking for important strikers and on the market there was not one for each club.’
