Thierry Henry, who was watching Inter Milan’s win over Porto in the Champions League for CBS, revealed that he warned Romelu Lukaku not to join Chelsea, adding that the striker has no interest in returning to Stamford Bridge.
The Belgium international was unhappy at Chelsea under Thomas Tuchel, and the club allowed him to rejoin Inter on loan last summer.
Henry worked alongside Lukaku as assistant coach with Belgium’s national side, and he claims he told the striker that he would “find it difficult” to thrive under Tuchel.
Lukaku struggled to make an impact in his first season back at Stamford Bridge with 15 goals in 44 appearances, after he joined Chelsea in a £97.5 million deal from Inter in 2021.
The Arsenal legend also believes Lukaku does not have a future in Graham Potter’s era at Chelsea either.
“We had a discussion when he [Lukaku] went to Chelsea,” Henry told CBS Sports.
“I told him he’s going to find it difficult to play at Chelsea and that happened to be the case because of the way Tuchel liked to play.
“Pressing, the No.9 and winger have to change, Rom likes to stay where he is, feed him, play him early, he will try to bully you, turn, stay in the box, crosses, he’s a different type of No.9 to what Tuchel wanted.
“Now, is he going to fit into what Potter is trying to do? I think they’re struggling with that, let alone with him in the squad.
“But what does he want to do? I don’t think he wants to go back, that’s the main thing, I think he wants to stay at Inter.
“And that’s where there’s maybe going to be a little clash if they want him back because I think he wants to stay there.
“The way when he came back. He said it, he said it the other day, ‘everyone knows what I want to do, what I want to do is to stay’.”
The striker’s playing style did not suit Tuchel’s tactics, and he had difficulty adapting to the system. Tuchel had managed similar strikers successfully before, and Lukaku looked good when the full-backs were in the team and he wasn’t injured, before the whole thing fell apart.
While Lukaku scored Inter’s late winner in their 1-0 victory over Porto, there is still a question mark over his future at Chelsea.