Romelu Lukaku in limbo: Struggling Inter striker not the answer to Chelsea's goalscoring problem

He had returned to right a few wrongs. Lukaku, as he admitted himself, had made a massive mistake in leaving Inter for Chelsea in the summer of 2021 and he was thrilled to get the chance to make amends.

The club were delighted to have him back, too. Indeed, it looked like another Beppe Marotta masterstroke: re-signing a player on loan for €8 million (£7m/$9m) a year after selling him for £97.5 million ($117m).

In that sense, Lukaku was a low-risk gamble well worth taking. And yet it's still managed to backfire badly.

The highest-paid striker in Serie A has managed just six goals in all competitions, with his campaign characterised by one shocking miss after another.

Indeed, after somehow contriving to hit the crossbar with a header from two yards out in Friday's 1-1 draw at Salernitana, Lukaku felt compelled to apologise afterwards to Inter's travelling fans.

It was a touching gesture, an admirable acknowledgement from a very honest character that he is not doing enough for his struggling side right now, and it was very much appreciated by the supporters.

"Always facing up to things, it doesn't matter if things go well or badly, what counts is taking responsibility," the Curva Nord wrote on Instagram.

While Lukaku has gone some way towards rebuilding a relationship he ended in brutal fashion by leaving for Chelsea without even a word of explanation, it now seems highly unlikely that he will still be at Inter next season.

No matter what happens between now and the end of the current campaign, the one thing we know for certain is that he will be forced to return to west London this summer - at least temporarily, while his future is sorted out.

The original plan, of course, was for him to spend a second season at San Siro, but there is no chance of cash-strapped Inter agreeing to hand over €20m (£18m/$22m) to extend the existing loan agreement.

That fee will simply have to be lowered if he is to stay in Milan, and this isn't just a question of finance or form. Lukaku's fitness has also once again become a cause for concern.

“I have to say he has 103 kilograms to carry around, so he needs to be in perfect physical shape to deliver and he is not there yet," Marotta told Sky Sport Italia back in February.

“Unfortunately, another problem with this anomalous season is the World Cup, which was midway through the first half of the campaign. I can see that participation in the World Cup affected many players, some feel it more than others, and Lukaku had an injury that meant he was reduced to practically a cameo at that tournament."

And a painful one at that, particularly from an emotional perspective.

Lukaku was only fit to come off the bench in Belgium's final group game against Croatia and, after squandering a succession of gilt-edged opportunities, he punched the dugout and had to be consoled by then-assistant coach Thierry Henry.

The hope was that the real Lukaku would return at the turn of the year, yet he still appears to be suffering from the effects of a terrible 2022.

During a substitute appearance at Monza in January, Lukaku's first touch - which has long been used to berate him - appeared to abandon him completely.

"He couldn’t keep the ball, he seemed scared of it," Inter legend Beppe Bergomi told Radio 24. "I don’t know at this point if it is just a matter of his physical condition or his mental state too.

"It feels like he is carrying with him what happened at the World Cup."

There have also been on-field arguments with his good friend Nicolo Barella, as well as reports of tension behind the scenes with coach Simone Inzaghi - which makes for such a stark contrast to his blissful and harmonious first stint at Inter under Antonio Conte.

All is not lost, of course. Inter need rescuing right now and Lukaky could yet prove their unlikely hero.

Inzaghi's side have picked up one point from their past four games in Serie A, a dramatic dip in form which has seen them drop to fifth in the standings, and missing out on the top four would have devastating financial consequences for the club.

Inter are, at least, on the right side of the Champions League quarter-final draw, away from the likes of Bayern Munich, Manchester City and Real Madrid.

However, hopes of an all-Italian semi-final feels very premature, given the Nerazzurri must face this season's surprise package, Benfica, in the last eight, with the first leg set to be staged at the Estadio da Luz on Tuesday.

Lukaku did, at least, score the decisive goal in the last-16 win over Porto, and Henry was encouraged by the forward's finish - and physique.

"I am so happy for Rom!" the Frenchman told CBS Sports. "He looks fitter, he looks slimmer, he wants it."

Interestingly, after watching that game at the Giuseppe Meazza, both Rio Ferdinand and Owen Hargreaves called on Chelsea to give Lukaku another chance to prove himself at Stamford Bridge next season.

"They don't have a centre-forward," the latter pointed out on BT Sport. "They've got a really good one [in Lukaku], so just get him fit.

"He's proven. His body of work shows he scores goals, so why would you not try and integrate him back into the squad in the summer?"

Obviously, everything will hinge on the identity of the next manager. There has been talk of Chelsea considering bringing Antonio Conte back to the club, which would obviously be ideal for Lukaku, but there appears little chance of that, given the Italian's desire to return to Italy to be closer to his family.

So, the natural concern is that the Blues end up turning to a manager who favours a fluid forward line, which, as even Henry admitted, is not particularly conducive to Lukaku's style of play.

"Rom likes to stay where he is," the World Cup winner said. "Feed him, play him in early, and he'll bully [opponents]."

In recent years, though, only Conte and former Belgium boss Roberto Martinez have consistently tried to play to Lukaku's strengths.

The leading candidates for the Chelsea job, Julian Nagelsmann and Luis Enrique, might not be so willing to build a forward line around the 29-year-old.

More importantly, though, Lukaku doesn't want to go back. As he's stated several times, he is determined to remain in Milan.

Lukaku has never hidden his love for the city and it's telling that he didn't sell his apartment even after departing for Stamford Bridge. Then, there's the fact that his son has just started school in Milan and also plays in the Inter academy.

However, as it stands, there appears to be little hope of his wish being granted - unless of course Conte ends up returning to San Siro in place of the under-fire Inzaghi. Even then, though, money would remain a problem.

Marotta recently told DAZN, "When it comes to his love for the Inter jersey, I can say it’s 10 out of 10."

But it's the other numbers that don't presently add up from an Inter perspective, namely his loan fee, his salary and his goals tally.

As Marotta admitted, "He is not the Lukaku we saw at Inter in recent years." This is instead the struggling striker we saw at Old Trafford and Stamford Bridge, a misfiring forward facing an uncertain future, left in limbo and looking as uncomfortable on the field as he did alongside Zhang last summer.