Romelu Lukaku’s future at Chelsea remains uncertain with Inter considering a permanent deal (Shutterstock)
Shaun Wright-Phillips believes Romelu Lukaku could still have a part to play at Chelsea following the arrival of Christopher Nkunku.
Lukaku’s future at Stamford Bridge remains uncertain following his season-long loan spell at Inter as the Serie A club have not yet followed up with an offer to sign the 30-year-old on a permanent deal.
Chelsea are now ready to take a significant loss on the £97.5 million they spent on signing Lukaku from Inter less than two years ago, while the Belgium international is said to favour a move back to Italy.
But Wright-Phillips feels Nkunku, who joined in a £52m deal from RB Leipzig last week, could be the ideal partner for Lukaku under Mauricio Pochettino next term.
‘Last season, [having no striker] was their biggest crime,’ Wright-Phillips told Metro.co.uk.
Christopher Nkunku completed his £52m move to Chelsea last week (Getty)
‘Yes, they were losing matches and conceding goals, but it wasn’t that they weren’t making chances, it was that they weren’t scoring them. They need someone to put the ball in the back of the net and Rom is a striker.
‘They’re never going to recoup what they paid for him and I don’t think he has any other options so I imagine he’ll be back. Poch could get something out of him, maybe with Christopher Nkunku playing behind him.’
Wright-Phillips has also backed Chelsea’s decision to significantly trim Pochettino’s squad ahead of the new campaign.
‘For me, it’s needed,’ Wright-Phillips said.
‘They were up to 43 first-team players with all their loan players back. The only way to start offloading them is to do exactly what they’re doing.
‘I’m not saying they are all the right ones to leave, or the wrong ones, but Poch has to start somewhere and so does the club and they’re putting themselves back on the right track this way.’
Chelsea also retain an interest in Declan Rice but Wright-Phillips is hopeful that West Ham’s captain, who has been the subject of two failed bids from Arsenal, makes the move to Manchester City.
‘The top five would bite your hand off to get Declan,’ said the former City and Chelsea winger.
‘He’s shown how good he is at doing both sides of the game – personally, I don’t expect my holding midfielder to score a lot of goals. He gets forward a bit more now, he’s got that game as an old-school No.8.
‘With Ilkay Gundogan gone, he can fill that space. As a City fan, I’d love to see him there.’
Shaun Wright-Phillips was speaking on behalf of Casino.online – the industry’s most trusted casino review guide – http://www.casino.online
For more stories like this, check our sport page.
Follow Metro Sport for the latest news on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
‘Poch could get something out of him with Christopher Nkunku playing behind him.’