Inter Milan sporting director Piero Ausilio has confirmed that his club want to re-sign Romelu Lukaku from Chelsea, with a permanent move for the Belgium international a possibility.
The 29-year-old initially represented Inter between 2019 and 2021 after arriving from Manchester United, and he scored 64 times over two seasons before returning to Chelsea in a big-money deal in the summer of 2021.
Lukaku found it difficult to make his mark at Stamford Bridge during the 2021-22 campaign, though, only managing 15 goals in 44 appearances in all competitions.
The Belgian was allowed to return to Inter on loan last season, and he represented the Serie A outfit on 37 occasions in 2022-23, scoring 14 goals and registering seven assists in the process.
Lukaku is set to return to his parent club for pre-season training in the near future, but the Blues are said to be open to selling him, and Ausilio has confirmed that Inter want to re-sign him.
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"Lukaku is one of our important objectives. The whole sporting department wants him at Inter," Ausilio told reporters.
"But for now he's a Chelsea player. The dialogue remains open. They don't want to send the player on loan. They said we must buy him. So we are now evaluating whether there is a possibility to sign him outright.
"I don't like talking about priorities. Lukaku knows very well that we want to bring him back here. Let's see if we can find a solution."
Lukaku scored 10 goals and registered six assists in 25 Serie A appearances last season, while he managed three goals and one assist in eight Champions League outings, with Inter reaching the final of the competition before losing to Manchester City.
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Inter's financial problems will make it difficult for them to sign Lukaku this summer, but a big-money sale of Andre Onana would boost their budget, with the goalkeeper said to be closing in on a switch to Manchester United.
"Right now, Onana is Inter's goalkeeper. He's one of the strengths of the team and we would like to continue with strong players," Ausilio added when questioned on Onana, allegedly before the second offer had arrived.
"If opportunities arise, we'll evaluate and listen, but up till now, they haven't arrived or haven't met our expectations.
"Onana's topic ends here. The pre-season starts on July 13 and he will rejoin the group. If something comes up in the next 15-20 days, we will evaluate it. Right now there are no dates or deadlines or the desire to deprive ourselves of any player."
Inter have already boosted their attack this summer with the arrival of Marcus Thuram, who has moved to San Siro on a free transfer from Borussia Monchengladbach.
Matt Law
