'He's a fantastic player': Potter speaks out on Lukaku's potential return to Chelsea

Chelsea’s Graham Potter is not ruling out the return of Romelu Lukaku to Stamford Bridge this summer,

Potter said that Lukaku is a fantastic player who the club knows very well and also likes his pattern of football.

Chelsea brought back Lukaku for a fee around £97.5 million from Inter in August 2021 but the striker struggled in his first season under sacked manager Thomas Tuchel, scoring 15 goals in 44 appearances.

The striker was sent on loan back to Inter Milan for the whole of the season where he has faced injury challenges this term and has scored five goals in 19 games for the Serie A champions.

When asked about Lukaku’s potential return to Chelsea, Potter told Canal+: “Well, he’s still a Chelsea player and we’re monitoring him of course.

"He’s a fantastic player, someone who we know and like.

“But again, we need to speak about that in the summer because he’s playing on loan for his club.”

Lukaku is currently out on loan at Inter Milan. After initial fitness struggles, the Belgian has gained some form, scoring five goals in the last seven appearances. Moreover, he grabbed a hat-trick for Belgium in the Euro 2024 qualifier against Sweden last week.

Inter have stated that Lukaku will return to Chelsea after this season - but it does not mean there's no way for them to renegotiate the 29-year-old's stay there after that. At the same time, though, there's a possibility Potter will have to deal with Lukaku as a member of his squad.