Antonio Conte sends message to Inter over Romelu Lukaku deal with Chelsea

Lukaku struggled to make an impact at Chelsea following his £97.5 million move from Inter and was allowed to return to the Serie A club on loan last summer.

However, the Belgium international’s season was disrupted by injury and Inter’s hierarchy have raised doubts over the possibility of a permanent deal this summer due to his fitness issues.

Lukaku also faced criticism after Inter’s defeat to Manchester City in the Champions League final at the weekend as he missed an excellent chance to equalise in the closing stages.

But Conte believes Lukaku, who was a key part of his title-winning Inter side in 2021, still has the quality to make an impact in games.

‘Romelu showed even in those 30 minutes in the final what he can do, because that was the period of the game where Inter had the most chances,’ Conte said at an awards ceremony in Arezzo.

‘Putting a player of his strength onto the pitch makes the difference.

‘He had injury problems this year but nobody can doubt his quality.’

Conte also fired a dig at Tottenham, who was sacked in March before Spurs went on to finish eighth in the Premier League.

‘The last experience, like all of them really, had some things that were positive and some less so,’ Conte said.

‘The experience was wonderful, we did the maximum possible and gave all that we had.

‘When I arrived, the team was in eighth or ninth place, yet we qualified for the Champions League. Then this season, with the side in fourth position, I decided we should part ways with Tottenham. Some had decided to settle for less.’

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