Graham Potter handed unexpected £97.5 million puzzle as Chelsea’s transfer plans take a hit

Graham Potter, Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali will have to squeeze in striker Romelu Lukaku next season after Inter Milan confirmed they’d not be taking him up permanently.

Chelsea re-signed Lukaku in the summer of 2021 on a staggering contract that saw him tagged as the face of the project under then manager Thomas Tuchel.

But in  a dramatic twist of events- Lukaku confessed his love for Inter Milan in an ill-advised interview and his time at Stamford Bridge collapsed before sealing a loan deal back to Inter Milan in the summer.

A troubled World Cup and injuries have dealt the Belgian striker really tough blows and now he will have to return to Chelsea unless the club can find a buyer for him in the summer.

“The loan was for one season so on June 30 regardless of how well he plays, he’ll go back to Chelsea. This has been an unprecedented season,” Inter Milan chief executive Beppe Marotta told Sky Italy.

“I’m referring, of course, to the World Cup. The problems we’ve experienced have been experienced by other clubs too and the players who played at the World Cup.

“Lukaku is a case in point. [Marcelo] Brozovic isn’t the Brozovic we know.  Lukaku hasn’t found the fitness he needs to play his best football.

“He’s still not at his best or the player we got to see in years gone by.”

Graham Potter has managed to ease the pressure on his position recently and the former Brighton manager is just beginning to get a tune out of his heavily assembled players but the arrival of striker Romelu Lukaku promises to test his managerial skills.

The new Chelsea board has invested almost £ 600 million in the last two transfer windows- but reports are that they will go in search of a new striker in the summer, but with Inter Milan now not interested in keeping Lukaku, it throws the summer plans into chaos now they have to find a way to solve the striker’s situation before thinking of incomings.