Inter Milan CEO Beppe Marotta has confirmed Romelu Lukaku will return to Chelsea when his loan deal expires at the end of the season.
Lukaku joined Inter Milan on a season-long loan deal in June after spending just one season back at Chelsea following a £97.5million move from the Italian side.
The 29-year-old has scored five goals in 17 appearances for Inter during what has proved to be an injury-hit campaign for the Belgian.
Decisive in Inter Milan’s 2020-21 Scudetto-winning campaign under Antonio Conte, Lukaku has failed to live up to those lofty standards and will once again return to Chelsea this summer.
‘The loan was for one season so on June 30 regardless of how well he plays, he’ll go back to Chelsea,’ Marotta told Sky Italia.
‘This has been an unprecedented season. I’m referring of course to the World Cup. The problems we’ve experienced have been experienced by other clubs too and the players who played at the World Cup.
‘Lukaku is a case in point. [Marcelo] Brozovic isn’t the Brozovic we know. Lukaku hasn’t found the fitness he needs to play his best football.
‘He’s still not at his best or the player we got to see in years gone by.’
Lukaku’s campaign with Inter has been marred by fitness issues and question marks surrounding his suitability as a top-level number nine for a success-hungry side.
He has missed 12 games in Serie A alone this term through injury, while when he has played he has often appeared slow and laborious, lacking that incisive pace and explosiveness that made him so irresistible during his initial spell with the club.
Lukaku has only managed three goals in the league, and two in the Champions League.