Former Chelsea goalkeeper and club advisor Petr Cech has backed struggling Romelu Lukaku to succeed at the club despite links to Inter Milan.
The Belgian international continues to be linked with a move back to Italy, but the Blues legend says he expects him to stay at Stamford Bridge beyond this summer.
Lukaku rejoined Chelsea from Inter last summer for a club-record fee of £98 million ($122m) but has been tipped to return to San Siro after a disappointing first year back in London.
But Cech has insisted that the 29-year-old will remain at Stamford Bridge this season, highlighting that his struggles with injury and Covid-19 explain his poor performance over the course of the 2021-22 campaign.
Speaking to Sky Sports News as reported by GOAL, Cech said;
“I personally believe Romelu Lukaku will have a great season.
“Last season we saw how strong he can be when he came. Unfortunately, the long-term injury he sustained against Villa slowed everything down, and then he had Covid-19 as well.
“We could see towards the end of the season when Romelu Lukaku was fit and ready to go how strong he is. We had a peculiar season with the Covid-19 issues around Christmas. He was one of those players affected.
“I have full confidence Romelu Lukaku will bounce back and have a strong season.”