Inter v Lukaku: it’s over! Goodbye loan-encore, the club already looking for a replacement

We are at the last kilometre. And there won’t be a second marathon, the first one has already been sufficiently expensive and, moreover, not very satisfying. It’s mid-April, Inter’s season is still swinging between the black and white film or one in 5K, or everything and the opposite of everything. But society has an obligation to look ahead and already plan for the future. And Inter’s future will be without Romelu Lukaku. The Belgian will return to Chelsea at the end of the loan. And Zhang’s club has no intention of negotiating another one, because the gross 20 million spent to bring him back to Milan did not go hand in hand with his performances. And because reasoning leads to another type of investment, a price tag to be capitalised, the value of which can grow over time, perhaps in the face of a lower salary, not the 12 million gross (thanks to the Growth Decree) that the forward earns Belgian.

The orientation is clear, the decision is made. And only an extraordinary season finale from the Belgian could upset the plans. Today there are no such signs. And the reasons can be many. Obviously, they also keep within the player’s point of view, who does not feel at the center of Inzaghi’s technical project and who would have a lot to say about in terms of training and also the type of use, in terms of playing time and tactical setting that it certainly doesn’t exalt him. But the responsibilities must be divided, they also call into question a long injury, before the World Cup, which ended up affecting the whole season. But Inter need to deal already today, even without knowing exactly which European competition they will play next season. But Lukaku’s speech goes even further. Because the Nerazzurri club will also be obliged to reduce the amount of wages next summer, which today says a total of 132 million gross. With the cost of Lukaku, including millions spent on loan and salary, the idea is to sign another player. Maybe younger and with perspective. Certainly owned. Also in order not to repeat the mistake made last summer with Paulo Dybala, who, net of the purely technical discourse, would have represented an economic asset to be included in Inter. Lukaku cannot be today. And it couldn’t be tomorrow either, given that any permanence in the best case scenario would still be linked to a loan renewal. Zhang’s company, on the other hand, has an absolute need to do player trading, buying and selling football players. He needs to increase the value of owned players, not to enhance other players’ property cards.

The next question is obvious: who instead of Lukaku? Inter are probing the market. She inquired about Roberto Firmino, that he will leave Liverpool and that he still has to decide in which league to continue his career. He has the Nerazzurri’s interest in hand, but also that of a couple of Spanish clubs. After all, not a discourse too different from Marcus Thuram, another free agent, who Inter have liked for at least two years. Inter have met their new agents twice, the race is complicated, but Marotta and Ausilio still don’t feel offside. Where instead they think they have conquered the pole position is on Mateo Retegui, the new center forward of the national team. The player has been followed for over a year, 18 million euros are needed to bring him to Milan: considering the salary, it wouldn’t be that different from the cost of a single Lukaku season. There is also another profile that the Nerazzurri keep an eye on. And it is that of the Belgian Lois Openda, 23, who this year with Lens in Ligue 1 scored 15 goals in 31 appearances. Tracks to follow, but Zhang’s club is certainly determined to profoundly change the face of the offensive department, which especially from January onwards has shown serious gaps in terms of continuity and also in the implementation phase. Lautaro is no longer him, he is physically down. Dzeko hasn’t scored in the league since 4 January, Correa is booed as soon as he touches the ball at San Siro, we have already mentioned Lukaku. Inter are looking for new goals. In the hope, entirely from Inzaghi, that these strikers will be able to write a season finale full of surprises. Maybe even changing the ending of a novel already written and decisions already made. Have you ever seen, changing your mind would be a very sweet operation.