Inter Milan chief says Lukaku has 'great desire' to return to San Siro

Romelu Lukaku has a 'great desire' to leave Chelsea and return to Inter Milan this summer, says the Italian club's chief executive Alessandro Antonello.

Inter are in talks with the Blues over a potential loan deal for Lukaku, who is set to depart Stamford Bridge after holding crunch talks with Thomas Tuchel and new owner Todd Boehly.

Stamford Bridge officials agree that letting the Belgian striker head out on loan next season is the best solution for all parties, biting the bullet on their £97.5million recruit following a poor campaign in which he scored just eight Premier League goals.

Talks are therefore underway with Inter, where Lukaku clinched the Serie A title before re-signing for Chelsea last summer, however the two parties are still some way apart in negotiations.

Chelsea are demanding a loan fee of £20million as well as the majority, if not all, of his £300,000-a-week wages paid.

Inter, meanwhile, have tabled an initial offer worth £7million for their ex-striker to return this summer.

It is up to San Siro chiefs to find an agreement with Chelsea, yet Antonello has confirmed that Lukaku himself is desperate to head back to Italy after a disappointing year in England.

'There is a great desire of the player to return,' he said on Thursday.

'The economic and financial feasibility must be checked and some technical problems must be solved. We will try to do it in the necessary time.'

Lukaku's second debut season as a Chelsea player got off to an encouraging start when he produced four goals in as many appearances, but an injury sustained in October marked the beginning of his downfall.

After struggling to work his way back into Tuchel's plans, he hit out at his manager and expressed his desire to return to Inter in a bombshell Sky Italia interview at the end of January.

The 29-year-old ended the season with a flurry of three goals in as many games, though overall his first year back in west London went down as an anti-climax, meaning Tuchel is now prepared to move him on.

Lukaku is prepared to accept a pay-cut to seal a return to Inter, who are only able to sign him on a loan deal due to a lack of finances.