Unleash Romelu Lukaku! Inter must start Chelsea loanee in the Champions League final

Of course, it's easy to understand why Dzeko moved ahead of Lukaku in the striking pecking order. Even when the Belgian returned to action after missing nearly the entire first half of the season through injury, he was struggling to control the ball - let alone put it in the back of the net.

Around the turn of the year, Beppe Bergomi wondered if Lukaku's problems were more mental than physical, and the man himself has subsequently admitted that Belgium's embarrassing World Cup first-round exit - and the role he played in it - took a heavy toll on him from a psychological perspective.

In truth, Lukaku shouldn't have even been in Qatar, given he had yet to fully recover from what he later described as the worst injury of his career. Were it not for the fact that he was Belgium's all-time leading scorer, there's no way he would have been called up by former coach Roberto Martinez. Lukaku was also determined to do all he could for the cause. But he ended up doing more harm than good, particularly to his own well-being.

Having been only given the green light to feature in the closing stages of Belgium's final, must-win group game against Croatia, a clearly rusty Lukaku missed one gilt-edged opportunity after another. His frustration was obvious, with Lukaku having to be consoled by Thierry Henry after smashing up the Belgium bench.

"I let my country down," Lukaku later told CBS. "Playing for your country is amazing, and when you play at the World Cup you want to make the best of it, because we all knew as players and staff that this was our last chance. And to go out in the way we did... I took everything into my mind when I left camp and I really felt down."

It would be some time before he recovered, in every sense. Lukaku began to question the wisdom of rushing himself back for the World Cup. He feared ending up like former Belgium team-mate Vincent Kompany, who had to retire at 33. "I weigh 102 kilograms and I sprint a lot," Lukaku said in an interview with Amazon. "I don't want to ruin my body."

It's telling that several key figures at Inter, including Inzaghi, CEO Beppe Marotta and vice-president Javier Zanetti, all repeatedly pointed out that Lukaku would require more games than most to get back up to full speed because of his formidable frame.

Such admirable patience was tested during a difficult spring for Inter, who looked in real danger of missing out on a top-four finish in Serie A after a dreadful run of domestic results. However, once Lukaku returned to form, so did Inter.

When the Nerazzurri arrived in Empoli on April 23, they had slipped to sixth in the standings, having collected just one point from their previous five league games. However, Lukaku scored twice in a 3-0 victory that inspired a stirring finish to the season that saw Inter finish third thanks to eight wins from their final nine outings.

The 30-year-old was directly involved in more goals (11) than any other Serie A player during that purple patch. Lautaro (10) ranks second on that particular list, while Dzeko (four) doesn't even make the top 40, which is why Inzaghi must put his faith in the 'LuLa' partnership in Istanbul.

Lukaku and Lautaro don't just have the form, they have the history. The pair formed an excellent rapport, on and off the field, during the former's first stint at San Siro, scoring 41 goals between them during the Scudetto-winning, 2020-21 campaign.

The chemistry is clearly still there, too. During the 3-2 win over Atalanta on May 27, Lukaku and Lautaro were electric, ripping their opponents to shreds with their complementary qualities. Less than a minute into the game, Alessandro Bastoni arrowed a pass out of defence that Lukaku directed into the path of his strike partner with a lovely first-time lay-off. Lautaro promptly put Lukaku into the open space behind Atalanta's high line and the No.90 took care of rest, rounding Marco Sportiello before rolling the ball into the net.

Later in the game, Lukaku dropped deep once again, only this time to pick up possession, spin and then play a stunning, defence-splitting pass that allowed the onrushing Marcelo Brozovic to leave Lautaro with a tap-in. It was unequivocal evidence that not only is Lukaku's first touch back, so too is his confidence.

Inzaghi's continued faith in Dzeko in big games is somewhat understandable. The Bosnian did, after all, come up big in the first leg of the Champions League semi-final against AC Milan, with a wonderfully executed volley into the top corner.

He, too, has also combined well with Lautaro on occasion this season. However, the fact remains that he has scored just four times in 2023. Lukaku has managed more in the past month alone and has repeatedly contributed to Champions League wins with goals and assists.

Furthermore, while Dzeko may be the slightly better player from a technical perspective, he simply does not have the kind of pace, power or strength that Lukaku possesses - attributes that would give Manchester City's defence far more to think about.

It has been argued that Lukaku is working well as an impact sub - and he is - but leaving him on the bench in Istanbul would be a colossal gamble. Inter are going up against the best team in the world here; one that blew defending champions Real Madrid away inside 45 minutes. The game could be over by the time ‘Big Rom’ makes his usual entrance around the hour mark - and that's the cold, hard truth of the matter.

Lukaku will clearly accept whatever role he has to play without complaint but, right now, the most important thing for Inter is that he starts against City on Saturday night.