Now thriving with Napoli after a successful stint at Inter Milan, Romelu Lukaku’s return to Chelsea is one his agent, Federico Pastorello, now views with some regret.

Lukaku rejoined Chelsea after his standout season at Inter, where he had been brought to England by the Blues earlier in his career. However, his second spell at Stamford Bridge failed to live up to expectations before he eventually made his way back to Serie A.

Speaking to AS, Pastorello reflected on the move:

“In hindsight, probably not,” he admitted when asked if he would take Lukaku back to Chelsea again.
“But Romelu was on the Ballon d’Or shortlist that year — something that had never happened before — and it was a record transfer from the Italian league. It was the right decision at the time. Then there are the human variables; no one could have predicted Lukaku’s difficulties, perhaps not so much environmental ones, because he knew the club, but rather in his relationship with the coach.
“He came from an almost father-son relationship with Antonio Conte, and that difference in approach affected him, along with the injury he suffered. If it hadn’t been for that, the story would have been different.”

Pastorello also revealed that Lukaku had been briefly linked with Real Madrid:

“Real Madrid is the best club in the world, for several reasons. There was a small chance, but in the end, they were already focused on signing Mbappé the following year and didn’t want to spend money on a loan.”

The agent went on to praise Lukaku’s seamless adaptation to life in Italy once again, crediting his reunion with Conte at Napoli:

“Lukaku has adapted well to Italy. When Antonio called him and asked him to join Napoli, he accepted immediately — it wasn’t even discussed. It was the perfect time to work together again, and the results have proved him right.”