Nainggolan warned Lukaku against Chelsea return

Last summer,

said he cautioned

Romelu Lukaku

against returning to

. Lukaku returned to Chelsea from Inter in August 2021 for a club-record of £98 million ($126 million), calling an end to his remarkable two-year spell in Serie A.

Last season, the Belgian striker helped Inter win their first Scudetto in 11 years, but in his first year back at Stamford Bridge under

Thomas Tuchel

, he has been significantly less productive. Lukaku has lost his starting spot for Chelsea as a result of his poor form, and Royal Antwerp midfielder Radja Nainggolan believes he made a big mistake by leaving San Siro.

"I had told Lukaku that he was the best striker in the world at Inter," the former Inter midfielder, who also played alongside Lukaku at the international level, told Fanpage. The tactical strategy and the team were built around him.

"He aspired to play for Chelsea, but this is his second trip there, and it usually ends in the same way. I keep telling him that if he had stayed at Inter, he would have been the best striker in the world for four or five years." Lukaku failed to score in any of Chelsea's 15 senior appearances from 2011 to 2014 before being moved to Everton.

The 28-year-old, who also had a disappointing spell at

before joining Inter in 2019, claimed he had unfinished business with the Blues when he returned to west London in 2021-22, but only managed to score 12 goals in 38 appearances.

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