because a return is no longer possible – Corriere.it

Strange signals. They have been arriving for a few days, like talks, to test the soil. What margin is there to put the pieces of the puzzle back together, is it possible to mend such a deep wound? Romelu Lukaku is trying: backtracking, for the second time, returning to Inter after the diplomatic crisis a week ago. Those around him got in touch with the Nerazzurri club: Can we go back? Dry answer: No, this time it’s over.

Real attempt, which took the form of phone calls and messages, but the result is always the same: Inter have raised a wall, with Lukaku over. The CEO does not change his mind Marotta, sporting director Ausilio feels betrayed. Yes, because contacts with Romelu were constant, dense, in the long weeks of negotiations with Chelsea. He, the bomber, told about his workouts, how he kept fit on vacation in view of his return to Milan. They, the managers, had found an agreement with the English club: 40 million euros, permanent transfer, Lukaku elected absolute priority of the summer. All finished.

The two days in which Big Rom lost track of him, he no longer answered the phone, weigh heavily. The contacts with Juventus and Milan weigh above all, the rivals of all time, the first occurred in the current season, with important finals to play. Betrayal, the word used by the fans to dismiss the memory of their striker, used by Inter to explain the striker’s about-face. Searched, waited, now turned away.

It’s not easy to get into Lukaku’s head, only a few people have the key to it. The lawyer Sbastien Ledure has climbed positions, but the beacon of every choice remains mother Adolphine. Rom asks her for advice, listens to her, accepts her doubts and observations. To sign him you have to accept the complete package, which Inter are no longer willing to do. The teammates themselves, starting with captain Lautaro, are disappointed by his attitude. They too tried to hear from Romelu in the days of chaos, when the hoped-for return turned into a sort of showdown. Uselessly.

Why did Lukaku change his mind again? At Chelsea Pochettino put him out of the squad, he has him train with the reserves, and Saudi still failed to convince him with its cascade of millions. And Juventus continues to support Vlahovic in words. The road to Turin can reopen, the market is still long. But it does not depend on Romelu, not even on the new Juventus manager Giuntoli: if the PSG, perhaps orphaned of Mbapp in the short term, decides to replace its star with the Serbian ex Fiorentina, then Juve could think of Lukaku. More and more alone, a victim of his uncertainties. Inter will leave tomorrow for the tour of Japan with one striker less — the best solution is sought between the reliability of Morata and the intriguing uncertainty of Balogun—, but convinced of the choice made: with Lukaku over, the next one on.