Inter Milan CEO Giuseppe Marotta: ‘Lukaku wants to stay’

Inter Milan CEO Guiseppe Marotta has said there is no decision about where Romelu Lukaku will be next season but claims the striker wants to stay in Italy.

Lukaku spent two years with Inter before joining Chelsea in the Premier League for £97 million.

However, the spell in England did not work out for the 29-year-old as he clashed with former Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel.

Inter returned for Lukaku and took him on loan for the season, paying £7m for the transfer.

Lukaku’s return to Italy has not been a success. He has been dealing with several injuries and has struggled to make his mark for Inter.

But he recently scored a crucial winner for Inter to give them a first-leg lead over FC Porto in the Champions League round of 16.

Asked if he expects Lukaku to stay, Marotta said (via Sky Italia). “Talking about it now would be premature.

“In June, he will return to Chelsea, and then it will be a new scenario before us, and we will see what we can do.

“He wants to stay, so definitely knowing what he wants, we will see if we can go back to negotiations and negotiate a return here with us for next season.”

Lukaku will need to do a lot between now and the end of the season to convince Inter to move for him again next summer. He has to stay fit and bang in goals.

Chelsea will likely loan or sell Lukaku next summer, with the Blues ready to move on from him. They have no plans to reintegrate him into their squad.

Marotta also lent his support to current Inter boss Simone Inzaghi who is facing criticism. 

Inter are second in Serie A despite losing to Bologna yesterday. But the manager is under fire for his team trailing Napoli by 18 points.

Marotta asked for more consistency and reiterated that the cup wins are great, but the Scudetto was the most crucial target.