Any hope Chelsea fans may have had of Romelu Lukaku returning to the Blues for next season to play under Mauricio Pochettino appear to have disappeared thanks to Gazzetta dello Sport.
That’s because the Italian newspaper have a big article on Monday, making some big claims about the Belgian striker, who is now preparing himself for a big game on Saturday against Manchester City in the Champions League final.
After a year of struggles, the Chelsea loanee has hit a great run of form at the right time, and there will be hope he can frustrate Pep Guardiola’s men at the weekend.
What happens beyond that, however, remains a bit of a mystery, even if the player has already made his intentions clear.
A lot will depend on what Inter Milan and Chelsea agree on, but Gazzetta do state ‘the great manoeuvres around the renewal (of the loan) for one year started some time ago’.
In fact, Lukaku has ‘conveyed his thoughts’ to those in charge of the Serie A side, and has made it clear his time with the Blues ‘can be said to be closed’, as there is ‘no desire to try again’ even if the Italians win the Champions League.
This was also ‘politely repeated’ by the player to new Chelsea manager Pochettino, and his arrival ‘doesn’t change’ the player’s desire, which is to stay where he is ‘at all costs’.
That doesn’t seem to bother the Argentine, who is said to be ‘thinking of other strikers for the creature he is shaping’.
Over in Milan, they are hoping that the player’s desire to stay will work in their favour in the negotiations, and ‘history says that’ if Lukaku has something in mind, ‘he ends up getting it’.
