Chelsea: £350k-a-week star could make shock return at Stamford Bridge

Chelsea striker Romelu Lukaku could be brought back into the fold under new manager Graham Potter, according to journalist Simon Phillips.

The 29-year-old re-joined Inter Milan on a season-long loan deal over the summer, but the departure of Thomas Tuchel may see him be handed another opportunity to shine at Stamford Bridge.

Despite handing Tuchel around £250 million to spend on transfers in the previous window, Chelsea’s new owner Todd Boehly sacked the highly-regarded tactician just seven games into the season.

Potter has been appointed as his successor after excelling at Brighton and Hove Albion, penning a five-year deal and is likely to make several changes in west London.

And one of the major alterations could be what lies ahead for Lukaku, who evidently didn’t feature in Tuchel’s immediate or long-term plans.

The Belgium international still has four years remaining on his £350,000-per-week contract at Chelsea but started just 16 Premier League games last term as he struggled to adapt to the demands of his head coach.

However, despite being with Inter at this moment in time, it remains to be seen what Potter has in mind for Lukaku, and a third chance of success with the capital club could be handed to him next summer.

Phillips believes there is ‘no reason’ why Lukaku can’t be brought back into the fold at Chelsea as his fallout with Tuchel was the driving force behind his exit.

In an interview with GiveMeSport, he said: “There’s no reason why it can’t now because the only reason he left was because of Tuchel; they fell out. They had a massive fallout, and it had a knock-on effect.

“So, if Potter comes in and says, ‘listen, I want Lukaku back,’ then there’s nothing to stop the board going and saying to Lukaku, ‘we