Chelsea face dilemma over what to do with £100 million flop striker

Chelsea restored some dignity after a disastrous week by thrashing Southampton 6-0 at St. Mary’s on Saturday to avoid a third straight defeat.

Thomas Tuchel’s side were humiliated 4-1 at Stamford Bridge last weekend, before going down 3-1 to Real Madrid in the first leg of their Champions League quarter final on Wednesday.

While the Blues’ position in the top four still looks secure, the result against the La Liga side has significantly dented their hopes of retaining their Champions League title and leaves them needing a minor miracle in the Spanish capital next week.

The result on the south coast on Saturday, however, sent out a significant message to those who had suggested that Tuchel was enduring his first crisis since arriving in England last January.

Mason Mount scored a brace, while two goals from Timo Werner will have been particularly pleasing for Tuchel. Marcos Alonso and Kai Havertz were also on target.

One player who missed out on the morale-raising victory, however, was Romelu Lukaku, who missed out on the trip to Southampton due to injury.

The Belgian has struggled since returning to Chelsea as the club’s record signing, and it looks increasingly likely that he will leave the club this summer.

Lukaku hasn’t started any of Chelsea’s last five league games

Former side Inter Milan have been touted as a potential destination for the striker, but they would only be interested in a loan deal, as per Football Insider.

The report suggests that the Serie A side, who sold the Belgium international to Chelsea last summer for just shy of £100 million, are willing to take the player back but only if a loan deal can be agreed.

Lukaku was criticised by the club’s fans earlier this season for revealing in an interview that his return to the club hadn’t been what he had expected, and also appeared to hint that he would like to return to Italy.

The relationship between the 28-year-old and Tuchel is still believed to be ‘tense’, almost three months after a bust-up between the pair behind the scenes.

Chelsea are unlikely to agree to let the player leave on loan, given the £97 million price tag that they forked out for him less than 12 months ago, however the opportunity to remove him from their wage bill while they can negotiate a permanent deal may be something to consider.