Romelu Lukaku is accused of lacking ‘respect’ and ‘HIDING’ from phone calls by Inter Milan’s sporting director after negotiations broke down between the Chelsea loanee and his former club

• The 30-year-old previously returned to Inter on loan from Chelsea in 2022 
• A tricky start saw him come into form late at the San Siro last season 
• Lukaku has been discrete about his difficult summer but dropped recent hints 

Romelu Lukaku has been accused of lacking ‘respect’ by Inter Milan’s sporting director Piero Ausilio months after his acrimonious departure from the San Siro. 

The Chelsea loanee spent last season at his former club, and gradually rediscovered his form for the Nerazzurri, leading to speculation that the Milanese club might attempt to make his return permanent. 

But Inter’s repeated advances were deemed below Chelsea’s asking price, and whilst negotiations were ongoing, Lukaku is thought to have opened talks with Juventus. 

Discussions with the Old Lady were believed to have deterred Inter, but Lukaku plumped for a move to join Jose Mourinho’s set-up at Roma after fan protests at his proposed signing in Turin. 

Inter fans were in no mood to celebrate Lukaku’s past achievements in blue and black when Roma travelled to the San Siro on Sunday, with the Curva Nord distributing thousands of whistles to be sounded when Lukaku stepped onto the pitch. 

Inter Milan’s sporting director Piero Ausilio has called out former player Romelu Lukaku

The striker was accused on lacking ‘respect’ in ongoing negotiations over a possible extended stay at the San Siro this summer

Lukaku’s return to Milan was an uneasy one on Sunday which saw Roma lose 1-0 on the road

Your browser does not support iframes.

In conversation with Radio Serie A, Ausilio attempted discretion when asked about his former player, but dropped a number of hints about negotiations broke down during the summer transfer window. 

‘I prefer not to talk about a player currently at another club, I have never done that in recent months,’ Ausilio began. ‘I say that I like to think about the present and the future, Lukaku is part of the past: with him, we won a Scudetto, lost two finals, and he brought us an important capital gain.

‘What happened? I prefer not to talk about it.

‘All I’m saying is that there has to be politeness and respect: things were obviously going on, but at a certain point these conditions came to an end. 

‘There are deals that don’t get done, but if there is respect it is never a problem. When, on the other hand, one hides or sends replies via other people, then one thinks about moving on.

‘For me it is a close chapter since July 8, there are no regrets.’

‘The famous phone call to Lukaku? It was something decided, nothing special. I told Romelu what I thought, after I hadn’t been able to contact him for a while.’ 

Since moving to Roma, Lukaku has been enjoying a purple patch, scoring eight goals in his 11 appearances across all competitions. 

His reunion with former coach Mourinho is proving so fruitful that there is a possibility that the club will look to formalise his stay in the Eternal City during next summer’s transfer window. 

The Belgian striker has also been keen to share his side of the story after a turbulent summer, but is yet to reveal ‘how things really happened’. 

The Belgian striker has been enjoying a resurgence of goalscoring form, with eight in 11 ties

Lukaku has settled well at Roma and there are whisperings the club may wish to make his move permanent is possible

Speaking to the media ahead of Belgium’s most recent spate of international matches, Lukaku claimed that he will ‘speak when the time is right’. 

‘There were moments when I felt like I could explode and five years ago I probably would’ve done,’ Lukaku added. ‘Now I am concentrated only on what I can do best, which is playing football. I worked hard all summer.’ 

Question marks over Lukaku’s future were brought to a head after incoming Chelsea coach Mauricio Pochettino deemed the forward surplus to his requirements. 

Lukaku did not travel with the squad for their pre-season tour of the US – along with many players who later left as part of the west London club’s summer fire sale.  

IT’S ALL KICKING OFF! 

It’s All Kicking Off is an exciting new podcast from Mail Sport that promises a different take on Premier League football, launching with a preview show today and every week this season.

It is available on MailOnline, Mail+, YouTube , Apple Music and Spotify

Your browser does not support iframes.

Source: Read Full Article