Inter Milan’s Romelu Lukaku wants permanent Chelsea exit

Inter Milan striker Romelu Lukaku said he is hoping to put his injuries and Belgium’s premature World Cup exit behind him and return to form in a bid to discuss a permanent move from Chelsea.

Lukaku missed a huge chunk of games in the first half of the season due to hamstring and thigh injuries which affected his return to the national team as Belgium crashed out of the World Cup in the group stage.

The 29-year-old is on loan from Chelsea and sealing a permanent move back to Inter could be difficult as the Premier League side looks to recoup the £97.5 million they paid the Serie A club in August 2021.

“Everyone knows what I want. Right now I have to do whatever is necessary with the team to make Inter win and then we can talk to Chelsea,” Lukaku told Sky Sport Italy.

“The idea is to finish [my career] with [boyhood club] Anderlecht. I’m [nearly] 30 years old, my son started school here and plays in the Inter academy. I’m fine, Inter always has ambition to keep growing.

“I want to stay here and do things right. I hope to do well with Inter in the next six months, work to the maximum and then at the end we talk to Chelsea and hope to find a solution.”

Lukaku said the long-term injury was the first time he had missed so many games in his career, adding that his house resembled a hospital as he looked to recover in time for the World Cup.

Their campaign in Qatar ended with the striker being consoled by Belgium’s assistant coach Thierry Henry and Lukaku said the former France international was the ‘”ideal” candidate to take over after Roberto Martinez stepped down.

“For me Henry is the next coach of Belgium. There are no doubts, I say it openly: he will be the next coach,” Lukaku said. “He has the respect of all the players, he has won everything. He knows how to coach, he knows what we have to do to get there.

“He wants to win, and I don’t think the federation is going to get a coach who wants to change everything and start from scratch.”