Ibrahimovic v Lukaku: Zlatan offered Chelsea man £50 for every good first touch at Man Utd

If recent reports regarding his future turn out to be true, then Romelu Lukaku could well be set to renew his rivalry with long-time foe Zlatan Ibrahimovic in Serie A next season.

Per Sky Sports, the 29-year-old Belgian striker is on the verge of a return to his former club Inter Milan after a disappointing 2021/22 campaign with Chelsea.

The Blues paid Inter an eye-watering £97.5 million to secure Lukaku’s services for a second time less than 12 months ago. A return on their investment of just eight Premier League goals has almost certainly left Chelsea regretting their purchase.

For his part, Lukaku has made it clear for some months now that he wants to play at the San Siro again. Between August 2019 and May 2021, the frontman bagged 64 goals in 95 appearances for Inter.

However, Lukaku has never threatened to achieve anywhere close to that goalscoring ratio in west London, leaving Chelsea fans underwhelmed.

Another man who has never been overly impressed by Lukaku is AC Milan striker Ibrahimovic.

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Let’s face it – Zlatan is rarely complimentary about anyone other than Zlatan – and most definitely is not a fan of the Chelsea frontman’s abilities.

Critics of Lukaku have frequently slammed his poor first touch and general lack of ball control.

Ibrahimovic is probably the most high-profile of those critics, having warned Manchester United fans not to “expect proper technique” from Lukaku – while the pair were teammates at Old Trafford.

The giant Swede was at least willing to put his money where his mouth was, apparently in the name of motivating Lukaku to improve his skills.

Zlatan cheekily suggested he would financially reward Lukaku for “every