“The club and fans are in his heart” – Romelu Lukaku’s agent claims striker had ‘problem’ at Chelsea and responds to rumors about future

Federico Pastorello, agent of Chelsea forward Romelu Lukaku, recently opened up on his underwhelming return to Stamford Bridge last summer. The Belgian international rejoined the Blues from Inter Milan for a club-record fee of £97.5 million.

Lukaku, however, has struggled to find consistent goals this season. He has netted 15 goals in 42 appearances for the Blues across all competitions.

Pastorello acknowledges that his client has not had the best of times this season despite his high-profile transfer. However, Lukaku is still the club's leading goalscorer this season.

Speaking to La Repubblica (via the Metro), Pastorello was quoted as saying the following:

"Given the transfer parameters, nobody could expect this situation. I won’t discuss technical choices, but it’s clear that there was a problem. However, his numbers must be put into context. He is the best scorer in the team despite getting less playing time than his teammates."

Pastorello has also admitted that the 29-year-old wants to return to Serie A via Inter or AC Milan. The Belgian international, however, will have to be patient due to Chelsea's takeover saga. On this, he said:

"Lot of noise for nothing. The club [Inter] and fans are in his heart. He has never hidden it, like his love for Anderlecht where he would like to end his career. But we cannot think about negotiations. Chelsea are in takeover discussions, we do not know the new owners, let alone if we can open talks with Inter or AC Milan. We have to wait."

Lukaku had already expressed his desire to leave Chelsea and that he was unhappy with manager Thomas Tuchel's tactics back in December.

Despite his lack of goals, it is worth mentioning that Romelu Lukaku has scored three goals in his last two Premier League games for the Blues.

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Chelsea take on Liverpool in the FA Cup final

Thomas Tuchel's side will once again face Liverpool in a final at Wembley Stadium when the two sides meet in the FA Cup final on Saturday, 14 May. The two sides faced one another in the Carabao Cup final earlier this year, which Liverpool won after a penalty shootout.

The Blues have reached their third consecutive FA Cup final. However, they have lost the last two finals. They first lost to Mikel Arteta's Arsenal back in 2020 before losing to Leicester City last year.

Chelsea last won the FA Cup in 2018 when they secured a narrow 1-0 win over Manchester United in the final.