November 1st 2023.
Romelu Lukaku's move to Roma on a season-long loan from Chelsea has been met with some criticism from Inter Milan sporting director Piero Ausilio. Ausilio expressed his disappointment for Lukaku's lack of 'respect' and dodging of phone calls this summer.
The Belgian had previously been on loan at Inter and was expected to complete a permanent move to the Serie A club in the most recent transfer window. However, negotiations fell through after Inter discovered Lukaku had also been in talks with Juventus. Consequently, he ended up moving to Jose Mourinho's Roma.
Despite the backlash, Lukaku has made a great start to his career at Roma having scored eight goals in his opening eleven games across both Serie A and the Europa League. This success has not gone unnoticed as Ausilio made no secret of his opinion on Lukaku when asked after Roma's 1-0 loss to Inter on Sunday.
He said, “Lukaku? Deals can collapse but respect should always be there. If someone disappears and doesn’t even answer to phone calls… that was unacceptable. The deal with Chelsea collapsed on July 8 after days and days trying to call him.”
Lukaku himself has since expressed his frustration at the events leading up to his Chelsea exit, describing them as 'shocking' and claiming there were moments before his move to Roma that made him 'explode'. It would appear that the rivalry between Inter and Roma, as well as the Belgian's move to the Italian capital, has reignited Ausilio's disapproval of the striker.
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