Marotta admits Inter ‘lucky’ Lukaku turned them down

Beppe Marotta is already thinking about Inter‘s next Scudetto and admits the Nerazzurri were ‘lucky’ not to sign Romelu Lukaku permanently last summer.

The Nerazzurri director released several interviews on Sunday night, during Inter’s Scudetto celebrations, which included an open-top bus parade around Milan. When the team arrived in Piazza Duomo, over 10,000 fans were waiting for them.

“I had never seen such a demonstration in terms of intensity and presence from the fans,” Marotta told Sport Mediaset, as quoted by TMW.

Marotta admits Inter ‘lucky’ Lukaku turned them down

A journalist asked whether Inter prepared to win the title in July when Lukaku refused to return to the club.

“There is a component in life that is never considered enough, which is luck. In that case, we were lucky,” Marotta admitted.

“I can’t hide that he was a target, but things went differently. We built an attack different from the initial plans, but we knew about Thuram’s worth and Lautaro’s confirmation. Then, we brought back home a certainty like Sanchez and Arnautovic. We are still the most prolific attack.”

The Belgian forward had spent the previous campaign on loan at Inter from Chelsea, but when the Nerazzurri were ready to purchase him permanently for €40m, Lukaku rejected their offer.

Marotta confirmed that Inter would sit down to discuss Simone Inzaghi’s contract extension.

“We surely want to extend it. Everyone at the club, starting with the President, feels this cycle can continue in the future,” he said.

What Marotta said about Inzaghi’s future

“He [Inzaghi] has been improving since he arrived, proving to be a winner who works in sync with the club and the directors. We want to consolidate this model.”

Marotta previously said the Nerazzurri would do a ‘creative’ summer transfer window, so what should Inter fans expect?

“I am already thinking about the No.21, the next Scudetto for Inter, and many other targets for next season like the Champions League and the Coppa Italia,” said the Nerazzurri director.

“Furthermore, the extraordinary Club World Cup. There are many objectives, but I always think the Scudetto should be the first one because winning in Italy is always difficult.”