Inter Milan sporting director flies into London to finalise Romelu Lukaku loan deal from Chelsea

Inter Milan’s sporting director Piero Ausilio has flown into London to continue talks with Chelsea over the signing of lead striker Romelu Lukaku on loan.

According to the Italian publication Gazzetta.It, the Belgian striker is desperate to return to Italy, where he still owns a house, and has remained in contact with most of his team mates from Inter’s Scudetto-winning season.

Chelsea have been contemplating on cashing in on their £97.5million record signing, even though they are aware that the Italian club don’t have the cash to make the deal happen.

So that means any move from Inter for Lukaku is likely to be a loan deal with an option to buy in the future.

Inter Milan CEO Beppe Marotta has been working with club lawyer Sebastien Ledure to try and get the deal wrapped up as soon as possible, with the player’s camp certain it’s a matter of when and not if Lukaku returns to Italy.

Why is Romelu Lukaku desperate for a move back to Inter Milan?

The Belgian forward enjoyed arguably his best period as a footballer at Inter Milan.

He arrived there with his confidence on the floor after a difficult period at Manchester United, but instantly felt the love with the fans and the city.

On the pitch, he scored an impressive 64 goals in 95 appearances for Inter, helping them win their first Scudetto in a decade.

He also boldly declared he would not leave weeks before signing his Chelsea contract, inciting the wrath of the ultras.

According to various reports, the deal that brought him to Stamford Bridge was too good to turn down for both the player and club, with Inter in serious financial difficulty.

However his time at Stamford Bridge has not been smooth sailing.

An interview with Sky Sports Italy copped him a massive fine from Thomas Tuchel and fans of the Chelsea are still healing from some of the things he said about his love for Inter and why he joined Chelsea.

Eight goals in 26 Premier League appearances is not the return he would have envisaged when he first signed, sometimes he’s just not looked interested.

The fact that Kai Havertz and Timo Werner have been preferred to him in some big games has not helped his confidence, and there is growing feeling that a divorce would be in the interest of all parties.

The Blues finished third in the Premier League last season and crashed out of the Champions League at the quarter-final stage.

They painfully lost the FA Cup and Carabao Cup final to Liverpool and had their season distracted by sale of the club.

With key players like Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen leaving, Chelsea must think carefully before taking a decision on the sale of Lukaku.