Romelu Lukaku's absence from Inter Milan's lineup for the start of the Serie A season this weekend has disappointed the team, according to manager Simone Inzaghi.
According to local media, the 30-year-old Belgian was on the verge of securing a permanent transfer from Chelsea following his loan stint at Inter the previous season. Negotiations were put on hold nonetheless, since he allegedly spoke with Juventus, a rival team.
"I appreciate what Lukaku brought us last season. He made a different choice, but I wanted him here and would have liked that to continue," Inzaghi told the press.
"It’s disappointing how it ended because he had been given a warm welcome by the Inter family.”
Inzaghi said that he was mostly content with the club’s new acquisitions despite several key players leaving, but he still felt the absence of a central defender.
In the off-season, the club lost Andre Onana, Marcelo Brozovic, Samir Handanovic, Milan Skriniar, and Lukaku.
"Almost everyone finds the transfer window to be challenging. We have lost some of the top players from their positions in Italy, but we have also added guys with promising futures who can support us.
Along with French attacker Marcus Thuram, Inter has also added midfielder Davide Frattesi and defender Yann Bisseck.
Inzaghi, though, dismissed the idea that Inter was the frontrunner to take home the Scudetto this year.
"I dislike discussing favourites. We're trying to win trophies, so I'd like to win because the supporters deserve it.
With early games primarily against teams that placed in the bottom half of the table the previous season plus a matchup against promoted Cagliari, Inter enjoys a reasonably comfortable start to the season.
When everyone predicted a difficult stretch of games for us last season, we actually ascended the standings with eight victories and a tie in 10 rounds, according to Inzaghi. "The fixture list also doesn't tell you much," he added.
With a match against AC Milan coming up next month, Inter opens its season against Monza at San Siro on Saturday.