Romelu Lukaku: Can Jose Mourinho help the most hated player in football salvage his career at Roma?

In between reaffirming his love of living in Milan and his desire to make his loan move permanent at the end of the 2022-23 season, an out-of-form and out-of-shape Lukaku insisted he was not in the least bit frustrated by being relegated to third-choice striker under Inter coach Simone Inzaghi. The club comes first, he stated time and time again. "Inter is the most important thing" became his mantra.

However, after catching fire at the end of the campaign, Lukaku expected to start ahead of Edin Dzeko in the Champions League final against Juventus - and was enraged that he did not. According to the Gazzetta dello Sport, the Istanbul snub was the final straw for Lukaku, who ultimately decided against re-joining Inter - even after a deal had been agreed with Chelsea.

That was Lukaku's prerogative, of course: if he didn't feel the full faith of the coach, he was entitled to look elsewhere, and there's no denying that Inzaghi erred badly in starting Dzeko against City, given the Bosnian's total lack of pace.

However, Lukaku's decision to enter into secret talks with Juventus was still absolutely shocking, and his refusal to even answer Inter's concerned calls utterly shameful.

Lukaku, remember, had previously stated that he would never even consider moving to Turin, given Juve are Inter's most hated rivals. And yet, ultimately, nobody was too surprised.

Such behaviour has come to be expected from Lukaku. His words - just like his badge kisses - count for very little, while he doesn't just burn bridges, he incinerates them, pollutes the water underneath and contaminates the surrounding area. Consequently, Lukaku is now arguably the most hated player in football history, detested by four separate sets of supporters all at the same time.

Manchester United fans - Gary Neville included - were thrilled to see the back of him when he left Old Trafford for Inter in 2019 because of a perceived lack of professionalism. Their Inter counterparts were twice let down by Lukaku, while at Stamford Bridge they are still fuming over an unsanctioned interview with Sky Sport Italia that must rank second only to Cristiano Ronaldo's love-in with Piers Morgan as the biggest PR disaster in recent football history.

As for the Juventus faithful, they were so aghast at the idea of their club replacing Dusan Vlahovic with Lukaku that they stormed the pitch during a pre-season friendly to protest against the proposed player-plus-cash deal.

And yet Lukaku has already been given a rapturous welcome in Rome - why? Because they need him.

Firstly, there's the fact that Tammy Abraham is out for six months with a knee injury, meaning Roma are short on options up front. Jose Mourinho was so desperate for a striker to be signed that he sent a cheeky message to his bosses in pre-season by pretending to embrace a new No.9 in the club's team photo.

As it transpired, he need not have worried. The Friedkin Group, who took over in 2020, have been running Roma in a sensible and sustainable manner, but they've been very clear about their desire to get the club back into the Champions League.

Wrapping up a deal for Lukaku, then, was of the utmost importance to the owners, as underlined by the fact that club president Dan Friedkin even piloted the private jet that brought the centre-forward to Rome on Tuesday evening.

According to a source close to the club, "The Friedkin family are highly committed to building a team that can achieve the glory that the fans deserve. The efforts of Dan and (vice-president) Ryan are clearly seen in deals such as this, as bringing in world-class players such as Lukaku is part of their vision for Roma."

The supporters are certainly happy. They turned out in impressive numbers to welcome him at Ciampino airport, while a mural of Lukaku as a gladiator has already appeared in the centre of Rome.

So, while it's clear that the 30-year-old's reputation is beyond repair after so many betrayals in recent seasons, 'Romelv' could not have hoped for a better club, coach or set of supporters to help him resurrect his career.

The question is, though, what kind of condition Lukaku will be in after spending the past few weeks training with Chelsea's Under-21s. Because of his considerable bulk, Lukaku is renowned for taking some time to get back up to speed after significant spells on the sidelines and, as former Juventus midfielder Massimo Mauro told Canale 5, "He has to be 100 percent physical because if he is not, then he's a useless player."

It certainly seems unlikely that he will be sufficiently match-fit to feature in Friday's mammoth Serie A showdown with AC Milan. Roma have picked up just one point from their first two games of the new season and one can be sure that a loss at home to the early leaders will have pundits all across the country writing off the Giallorossi's hopes of a title challenge.

The goal, though, is a top-four finish and that still seems like a realistic objective if Mourinho can get both Lukaku and the even more injury-prone Paulo Dybala on the field at the same time for the majority of the season, because the pair have the makings of an effective and complementary forward line - one quite similar to the 'Lu-La' partnership between Lukaku and Lautaro Martinez that propelled Antonio Conte's Inter to the title two seasons ago.

Mauro does not believe that Lukaku is still the same force of nature that tore teams to shreds alongside Martinez, but former Roma boss Fabio Capello is in no doubt he still has the potent mix of power and pace to excel in Serie A.

"In Italy, there are no defenders capable of stopping players like Lukaku," he told Il Messaggero. "Romelu is someone who knows how to score goals and open up space for his team-mates. How long will it take him to get up to speed? With his physique, it's never easy to find the best condition right away. He needs to play after such a turbulent summer."

Given Roma's lack of options - Andrea Belotti is their only other viable option at No.9 - Lukaku is at least guaranteed game time at Stadio Olimpico. And he clearly won't want for support there either.

In truth, if Lukaku starts scoring goals in Serie A again, the most hated player in football could quickly become the most beloved man in Rome.