It’s been a case of so far, so good for Romelu Lukaku during the 2023/24 campaign.
Though it was initially thought that he would move permanently to Inter Milan last summer, supposed negotiations with other clubs meant that the Neroazzurri pulled the plug on any deal to bring the Belgian back to the San Siro.
Fortunately for the 30-year-old, Jose Mourinho saved the day and another loan move, this time to Roma, was the result.
Romelu Lukaku has grabbed his opportunity
Lukaku has certainly grabbed the opportunity with both hands, and at the time of writing has already plundered 18 goals and delivered four assists for the Serie A side per WhoScored.
Unfortunately, there are a lot of moving parts to any permanent deal and that means the striker still finds himself in a kind of footballing limbo at present.
“It’s too early to speculate what will happen with Romelu Lukaku this summer” Fabrizio Romano said to CaughtOffside for his exclusive Daily Briefing.
“We still don’t know Chelsea’s plans, whether AS Roma can afford him with their Financial Fair Play strategy based on Champions League football or not…
“Lukaku can only wait now and focus on helping Roma do special things in Italy and in Europe.
“That’s why he wanted to stay silent in TV interviews after the Europa League win over Brighton.”
Given that Chelsea under Mauricio Pochettino now have a more youthful look in the main, and the Blues are certainly well covered in the striking department, it’s unlikely that they would want to have to try and re-integrate Lukaku back into the fold.
Financial Fair Play is highly likely to play a part in any summer business for Chelsea too, and if Todd Boehly deems it a requirement for the Belgian hit-man to be sold off to the highest bidder, Lukaku might just find that the Saudi Pro League will be his next destination.
It was an option last summer, but evidently one that the striker didn’t want. If his options are limited this summer, it will be interesting to see what he plans to do.