Romelu Lukaku 'not in Chelsea's plans for next season'

Romelu Lukaku is reportedly not in Chelsea's plans for the 2023-24 campaign, with the Blues expected to sanction a permanent move for the centre-forward during the summer transfer window.

The 29-year-old returned to Chelsea from Inter Milan in the summer of 2021, with the London giants paying £97.5m to bring the Belgium international back to Stamford Bridge.

However, Lukaku found it difficult to make his mark during the 2021-22 season, only managing 15 goals in all competitions, and he left the club last summer to return to Inter on loan.

A frustrating campaign has seen the Belgian manage only four goals and one assist in 15 appearances, spending time on the sidelines with hamstring and muscular issues.

As it stands, the forward will return to Stamford Bridge this summer, but according to the Gazzetta dello Sport, he is not part of Chelsea's plans moving forward.

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The report claims that Blues head coach Graham Potter is 'not enthusiastic' about a return for the Belgian, while he does not fit into the plans of co-owner Todd Boehly moving forward.

Inter CEO Guiseppe Marotta recently commented on a potential permanent move for the striker this summer.

"Lukaku to stay also next year? It's too early to decide, he will return to Chelsea and we will see what's next. Lukaku wants to stay at Inter, for sure - we know Romelu's intention and so we will see if we can negotiate his return here," Marotta told Sky Italia.

Meanwhile, Real Madrid are thought to be interested in signing the forward, with Los Blancos looking to bring in competition for Karim Benzema next season.

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Lukaku has scored 68 goals and registered 17 assists in 110 appearances for Inter in all competitions during two separate spells.

The forward will hope that he has put his injury problems from this season behind him, having featured in each of the team's last six matches in Italy's top flight.

Meanwhile, the Belgian scored the winner against Porto in Inter's Champions League last-16 first leg on February 22.

Chelsea are expected to be in the market for a new striker this summer, with Napoli's Victor Osimhen believed to be the club's leading target in that area of the field.

However, a recent report also claimed that Juventus forward Dusan Vlahovic had emerged as a target, with the Serbia international potentially becoming available for transfer this summer.