Chelsea make huge decision on future of £97 million striker

Chelsea will be hoping to record a second successive victory when they face Nottingham Forest on Saturday. 

The Blues ended a dismal run of eight games without a win across all competitions by beating Bournemouth last weekend, and Frank Lampard will be hoping to follow that up with another win on Saturday.

The west London outfit have very little left to play for this season, and owner Todd Boehly remains busy working to find a permanent successor to Lampard, who is set to leave the club at the end of the season.

The American will have plenty of other decisions to make over the summer, although it appears that Chelsea do have a plan in place for one of their most expensive signings.

As per The Mirror, striker Romelu Lukaku is set to return from his loan spell at Inter Milan this summer, with a decision on his future set to be made once he has spoken to the club’s incoming manager.

Lukaku, who spent time at Stamford Bridge as a youngster, returned to the London club in 2021, with Chelsea paying more than £97 to sign him from Inter after he had lead them to the Serie A title the previous season.

Lukaku faces an uncertain future

Last season was a disastrous one for the player, though, as he criticised then-manager Thomas Tuchel during an unauthorised interview with Italian media.

The forward netted just eight times in the Premier League last term, and was therefore sent back to Inter on loan for the current campaign.

Since returning to Italy the Belgium international has scored ten goals in 30 matches across all competitions, but he is expected to return to Stamford Bridge and be involved in pre-season training before a decision is made on his future.

The report suggests that Inter have no intention of making an offer to sign Lukaku permanently, despite the Belgian scoring three goals and providing four assists in his last five league matches.

Despite acquiring 16 new players at a cost of more than £500 million over the past year, Chelsea are still without an out-and-out striker to lead the line next season, and Lukaku will therefore be given the chance to speak with and impress the new manager before a decision on his future is made.