Lukaku made the return to Chelsea last summer, 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.
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.
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And despite the change in manager, it appears Chelsea have no plans to bring Lukaku back to the Bridge, with a second loan spell even discussed.
“But they already discussed for a potential second year of loan. It’ll depend on many factors, but they already verbally discussed the possibility of a second year.
“Let’s see what happens, but for now there are no plans to bring Romelu Lukaku back off loan.”
Romano also provided an update on the future of Trevoh Chalobah, who could still leave Chelsea in January:
“During the summer [he] wanted a move. He wanted a move on loan just to play, he wants to play,” Romano stated.
“He wants to be a regular starter and have good gametime. He’s a young and talented player and wants to find some space to show and improve his skills.
“But at the end, despite negotiating with Inter Milan, AC Milan and RB Leipzig [and] despite signing Wesley Fofana Chelsea decided to keep Chalobah.
“They were waiting for the Fofana deal before giving Chalobah the green light, but they decided to keep him.
“I’m told there are already some conversations around with clubs still interested in Chalobah. There is a chance for him to leave the club in January.”
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