Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino expects Romelu Lukaku to join pre-season squad
The striker has already claimed he wants to play for Inter Milan
Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino spoke related to Romelu Lukaku's situation and he expects the striker to join the pre-season squad.
The first week of offseason practice has just ended for the former Tottenham Hotspur manager, who started his new role at Stamford Bridge on Monday.
With few exceptions, including players who were recently called up for international service or went on loan last season, the majority of the Chelsea squad has returned to Cobham.
The 2022–23 season was spent by Lukaku at Inter Milan, where he participated in the team's Champions League final loss to Manchester City.
After Chelsea acquired the player for a then-club-record £97 million from Inter Milan, the striker moved back to West London in the course of the summer of 2021.
However, he struggled to adapt to Thomas Tuchel's style of play, scoring only eight Premier League goals and upsetting supporters by declaring his intention to rejoin Inter only a few months after departing.
He was granted his desire and was given a loan back to the San Siro, but the 30-year-old had a mixed experience, scoring 14 goals in 37 appearances while also drawing criticism for some clumsy performances and terrible mistakes.
Notwithstanding this, Lukaku is adamant about returning to Italy, and Inter has offered him another loan period. However, Chelsea only wants to sign Lukaku for a permanent sum of about £40 million, and AC Milan is also interested in the Belgian international.
The Saudi Pro League has made multiple bids, and the Blues were eager to sell him to them. However, the player has no interest in moving there.
But a great deal of this hinges on whether Lukaku is included in Pochettino's initiatives, even though the Argentine was circumspect about it during his initial press conference with the team on Friday.
He stated: ‘I think the personal situations all the parties know what we think. In that case he needs to come back on the 12th or 13th [July] to be part of the squad and start pre-season."
‘'When the player arrives the first thing they are doing is to come to my office to see me and say hello. That is what I expect if he is still a Chelsea player.’'
After earning a bachelor's degree in mass media, Rajarshi began his career as a sports writer in 2019, driven by his passion for sports journalism. He has been working in the field for over six years. A devoted fan of Lionel Messi and Barcelona, Rajarshi has been involved in sports since childhood. Before turning his focus to journalism, he even represented his college at the state level. Along with covering football, he enjoys playing the game, watching movies, and experimenting with new recipes in his spare time, as cooking is one of his favorite hobbies.