"People around him..." - Insider drops intriguing Romelu Lukaku claim at Chelsea

People around Chelsea striker Romelu Lukaku were confident that he would be a success at Stamford Bridge, says transfer insider Dean Jones.

Lukaku joined the west London club from Inter Milan in a £97.5m deal last summer, but things have not quite gone to plan, with the 28-year-old left out of the starting XI in his side’s 3-1 Champions League defeat against Real Madrid.

Lukaku initially made a good start to his second spell as a Chelsea player before picking up an ankle injury, scoring on his debut against Arsenal.

He followed that up with a brace versus Aston Villa and the winning goal in a Champions League tie with Zenit Saint Petersburg.

However, since then, the Belgian forward has gone on to register just two more times in the Premier League, making this campaign an extremely disappointing one.

Lukaku, who has lost his place in Thomas Tuchel’s starting XI to Kai Havertz in recent weeks, has also looked unsettled, with the former Inter man declaring in an explosive interview with Sky Italia that he would like to return to the San Siro in the near future.

Get Lukaku OUT NOW! Chelsea fan fumes on The Football Terrace…

Jones has told GIVEMESPORT that Lukaku’s camp believed things would work out for the Belgium international under Tuchel.

Speaking to GMS, the football journalist said: “He was so determined to make this move work out. I know people around him genuinely believed that he would be a massive success. He started so well at Chelsea, and for whatever reason, that’s fallen away.”

This cannot continue – a £90m+ player sitting on the bench – so everything is pointing towards a swift Stamford Bridge exit for Lukaku.

Italian outlet La Gazzetta dello Sport recently reported that Inter are not ruling out the 6 ft 3