Romelu Lukaku didn’t rise to the occasion as Roma were upended by Inter on Sunday. The cautious game plan and meaningful absences led to a paltry offensive output that impacted him. Instead, his replacement in the Nerazzurri jersey, Marcus Thuram, decided the game.
The Belgian failed to score for the second domestic tilt in a row but has been doing so in spades since moving to the Giallorossi. He further touched up his remarkable Europa League record.
Roma paid €5M to have him on loan from Chelsea this season. They’ll reportedly need to disburse €40M, or slightly more, to retain him at the end of the season. Per Corriere della Sera (via Mediaset), the Giallorossi will probably struggle to get to that sum but have a makeweight that could entice the Blues.
The capital club could offer Tammy Abraham, who’s currently recovering from an ACL tear. The Pensioners previously showed some interest in him. He did well in his maiden season in Italy but took a clear step back in his second one. The London-based outfit didn’t activate a €80M buy-back clause.
While Chelsea have blatantly moved on from Lukaku, they might explore a reunion with their youth product, especially since they have just Armando Broja as far as pure no.9s are concerned in the squad at this stage.
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