Chelsea striker Romelu Lukaku has had a difficult season after his arrival from Inter last summer
(Image credit: PA)
Chelsea striker Romelu Lukaku wants to stay at the club despite a difficult first season back at Stamford Bridge, according to reports.
The Belgium international returned to west London last summer, as Chelsea paid £97.5m to bring him back to the club from Inter.
Lukaku made a bright start to his second spell with the Blues, scoring in his first game back against Arsenal.
He then notched a brace against Aston Villa in his third appearance of the season and found the net against Zenit Saint Petersburg in the Champions League.
However, the goals soon dried up and Lukaku found himself in and out of team as Thomas Tuchel looked at different attacking combinations.
(Image credit: Getty Images)
And an interview in December in which Lukaku questioned Tuchel's tactics and revealed his desire to one day return to Inter did not go down well with the Chelsea fan base.
The former Manchester United striker has started only 15 matches in the Premier League this term, and there have been suggestions that he could seek a move away this summer.
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But according to Give Me Sport, Lukaku is not ready to give up on his Chelsea career just yet.
He is determined to be successful with the Blues and does not want to leave the club this summer.
His agent even dismissed speculation linking Lukaku with a return to Inter Milan as "a lot of noise", before, er, leaving open the door to exactly that possibility.
"Lot of noise for nothing. The club [Inter] and fans are in his heart," Federico Pastorello told La Repubblica.
"He has never hidden it, like his love for Anderlecht where he would like to end his career.
"But we cannot think about negotiations. Chelsea are in takeover discussions, we do not know the new owners, let alone if we can open talks with Inter or AC Milan. We have to wait."
(Image credit: Getty)
Chelsea can start looking ahead to the summer transfer window now that Todd Boehly's consortium is close to completing its takeover of the club.
A deal is expected to be ratified by the end of the month, and Tuchel has already told the soon-to-be owner which area of the squad he believes is in most urgent need of strengthening.
In the meantime, Chelsea will be looking to win their ninth FA Cup when they face Liverpool in the final on Saturday.
Lukaku will hope that his three goals against Wolves and Leeds in the past week will earn him a starting spot at Wembley.
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Greg Lea is a freelance football journalist who's filled in wherever FourFourTwo needs him since 2014. He became a Crystal Palace fan after watching a 1-0 loss to Port Vale in 1998, and once got on the scoresheet in a primary school game against Wilfried Zaha's Whitehorse Manor (an own goal in an 8-0 defeat).
