Inter have made the decision not to extend the loan of Chelsea striker Romelu Lukaku past the end of this season.
This according to today’s print edition of Milan-based newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport, via FCInterNews, who report that the 29-year-old will return to Stamford Bridge and that it now looks less likely than ever that the Nerazzurri would consider renegotiating his loan this summer.
It is no secret that Lukaku’s return to Inter on loan from Chelsea has not exactly gone according to plan.
The Belgian international has had one or two flashes of his best, but no more than that as even when he’s been fully fit he has not been able to make the impact expected of him.
It has long looked to be the case that the Nerazzurri will make the decision as to whether or not to extend Lukaku’s loan based on his performances in the run-in of the season.
To date, the kind of form that could convince the club to invest another €20 million or so in the fee and wages for another loan next season have never arrived.
In this sense, time has more or less run out, and unless the Belgian can genuinely have a flourish in the final the weeks of the campaign, the club’s mind is made up, the Gazzetta reports.
Meanwhile, the newspaper also report that things have started to change from the player’s perspective as well.
Lukaku does not feel at the centre of the Nerazzurri project, both because he has still not received the playing time he’d expected and because the style of play simply does not suit him.
Inter CEO Beppe Marotta confirmed some time ago that Lukaku will return to Chelsea at the end of the season and then it will be up to the two clubs to decide in negotiations whether or not there will be another loan for him.
According to the Gazzetta, the decision is now all but final – there will be no further loan and Lukaku’s second adventure at Inter will end after just one season.
