Full Story Enzo Maresca fired ‘dangerous’ Romelu Lukaku message amid transfer problem inheritance

As the player returns from his loan at Roma, the next Blues manager will have one additional issue to deal with upon his arrival at Stamford Bridge.

Chelsea star Romelu Lukaku has been backed by his national team manager ahead of the 2024 European Championships. (Image: Photo by Giuseppe Maffia/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

Romelu Lukaku, a striker who is currently out of favour, has been offered advise by Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca on how to handle him following many transfer windows of

After joining Inter Milan in Serie A for a then-club record £97.5 million in December of 2021, the Belgian international returned to Stamford Bridge under Thomas Tuchel. However, he soon stoked controversy when he claimed in an interview with Sky Italia that he was not “happy” under Tuchel.

Lukaku indicated his desire to return to Inter ‘in the near future’ after asserting that the head coach ‘has decided to play with another system’ and drawing comparisons between the team’s tactics and those at Inter. Tuchel eventually dropped him for the match against Liverpool as a result, and the following summer, he returned to Inter on a season-long loan.

He signed a loan deal with Roma for the next season, when the Serie A team covered his whole wage. The 31-year-old, who made 47 appearances in all competitions and scored 21 goals under Jose Mourinho, is scheduled to return to Stamford Bridge once more but has no expectation of playing any games.

But since then, there has been a shift in the dugout, with owner Todd Boehly appointing Maresca in lieu of departing coach Mauricio Pochettino. Even while the Blues have reiterated their position on Lukaku and expressed optimism that they will be able to sell him permanently in the upcoming weeks, it was done under Pochettino’s leadership.

Maresca must now make a decision regarding what to do about Chelsea’s most pressing single-player problem, which has been plaguing the team for years. Although clubs have begun to make lower bids, the star’s release clause, which is estimated to be worth £38 million, has not appeared to be very profitable in advance of the window’s formal opening next week.

But the manager of Belgium’s national team, Dominic Tedesco, has emphasised Lukaku’s strengths. He thinks the player can be a true mentor to young players, who make up nearly all of Maresca’s roster, and he has world-class game knowledge.

“He is a vital member of the team off the pitch as well. “His achievements on the pitch speak for themselves, but he’s more than that,” Tedesco asserted in a statement posted on the official UEFA website. “He is perfectly aware of whether to pass if he has his back to the goal or when to pivot and attempt a shot himself.

“He is not just dangerous in set pieces or crosses, but in many other scenarios as well. He is erratic and challenging to stop in the latter part of the pitch. Few defenders, in my opinion, would pick to oppose him.

“However, there is no denying his significance off the pitch because he has a large network of players, especially younger ones, whom he can guide and mentor. He is really important since he takes care of a lot of things in the dressing room and worries about a lot of things.”