Romelu Lukaku hits out at Chelsea boss Enzo Maresa on social media as he pines for Serie A

The Belgian striker, 31, has spent the past couple of seasons out on loan in the Serie A, first with Inter Milan and then with Roma, having been exiled from Stamford Bridge. Now, as new manager Enzo Maresca bloats his squad to more than 40 players, Lukaku very clearly wants out.

Lukaku rejoined Chelsea in 2021 for an eye-watering £97.5m, but only scored eight goals in his first season back with the Blues, and soon revealed in a Sky Italia interview that he longed for a return to Italy. Rumours that he could join Aston Villa have flatlined, but Napoli manager Antonio Conte is keen to reunite with the Belgian, particularly with strong rumours that Victor Osimhen could be heading in the opposite direction.

Now, he has also liked a social media post from ex-Manchester United legend Rio Ferdinand, who slammed Chelsea’s treatment of Raheem Sterling on his podcast, Rio Presents. Sterling was absent from Chelsea’s squad for the opening game of the Premier League season, where the Blues were beaten 2-0 by Manchester City.

Ferdinand said: “I see all the young players, especially in that squad, talk about Raheem. It's like Uncle Raheem. Palmer, the likes of Reece James, it's Uncle Raheem. And he's looked after a lot of these boys, they come to him.

“So when you kick that guy in the changing room, all of them are going to limp at some point and they aren't going to take it well and you create a problem in your own dressing room. There's nobody delivering that message with any clarity.

“From what I'm hearing Sterling has got no understanding of where his situation lies. He hasn't had anyone in the hierarchy come to him and say 'listen, you're surplus to requirements, we want to get rid of you'.”