Lukaku made the return to Chelsea in the summer of 2021, setting the Blues back close to £100m.
But with Chelsea coming off the back of a Champions League triumph, a big-name striker did appear to be the final thing they needed to truly compete at the top of the Premier League once more.
And whilst Lukaku did fit that criteria on paper after a very successful, title-winning campaign with Inter Milan, his 2021/22 was a complete disaster.
Lukaku was hampered by injury and fitness issues, but his bizarre interview earlier in the campaign in which he expressed his love for Inter and hit out at Tuchel for his use of him really didn’t help.
All told, Lukaku went on to score just eight league goals during 2021/22, only one of which – vs Arsenal in gameweek two – came against a top-eight team.
Lukaku has since returned to former side Inter Milan on loan for the 2022/23 season and he was expected to remain at Inter Milan going forward.
And now, Inter chief Giuseppe Marotta has been speaking about how Lukaku’s future could be impacted by the arrival of Graham Potter at Chelsea.
Of the changes and potential ramifications for Lukaku, Inter CEO Giuseppe Marotta told Sky Sports Italia: “It’s fresh news. I don’t know what the effects of the change of coach will be.
“We want to get the best performance out of Lukaku, and then at the end of the season we will sit down and talk about him with Chelsea.
“I don’t know if a change of coach means that his return is automatic, it’s difficult to predict today.”
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