Romelu Lukaku's return to Chelsea was an unmitigated disaster.After the Belgian smashed it at Inter Milan, the west London club saw fit to splash close to £100 million to re-sign the striker last summer.Lukaku was supposed to take the Premier League by storm and at the start of his return, that looked as if it would be the case.But things quickly took a downwards turn. A loss of form, injuries and a ridiculous mid-season interview in which he basically professed his love for Inter saw him fall down the pecking order at Chelsea.In the end, Lukaku finished the 2021/22 campaign with just 15 goals from 44 appearances, which is simply not good enough for a player of his ilk.The former Manchester United man has now officially returned to Inter on loan until June 2023 and Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel will probably be glad to see the back of him in truth.
NORWICH, ENGLAND - MARCH 10: Thomas Tuchel manager of Chelsea brings on Romelu Lukaku of Chelsea during the Premier League match between Norwich City and Chelsea at Carrow Road on March 10, 2022 in Norwich, England. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images)Lukaku just wasn't suited to his playing style and that really was evident for all to see.And it seems Tuchel didn't exactly help matters with regards to Lukaku's soap opera at Stamford Bridge.According to Nizaar Kinsella, Goal's Chelsea correspondent, the Blues boss made a cheeky comment to the striker about his former manager Antonio Conte while the pair watched a Tottenham Hotspur game - and it apparently didn't go down well at all.Kinsella said on the Italian Football Podcast: "Somebody told me… Romelu Lukaku was chatting to Thomas Tuchel watching a Spurs Premier League match, and Tuchel said 'there's your daddy' about Antonio Conte. It was just a joke, but it didn't go down very well."
Smooth, Thomas...
Lukaku will now be looking to start up a better player/manager relationship with Simone Inzaghi at Inter ahead of the new season.
Surely things can't go any worse than they did at Chelsea in 2021/22, right?