Inter Milan are disappointed that striker Romelu Lukaku will not be part of their squad as the Serie A season begins this weekend, manager Simone Inzaghi said on Friday.
The 30-year-old Belgian was close to securing a permanent move from Chelsea following last season's loan spell at Inter according to local media. However, negotiations were halted as he reportedly had talks with the club's rivals Juventus.
"I thank Lukaku for what he gave us last season. I wanted him here and would have liked that to continue, but he made a different decision," Inzaghi told reporters.
"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.
Andre Onana, Marcelo Brozovic, Samir Handanovic, Milan Skriniar and Lukaku all left the club in the close season.
"The transfer window is complicated for almost everyone. We have lost some of the best players in their roles in Italy, but brought in those with bright prospects who can help us out."
Inter have signed defender Yann Bisseck and midfielder Davide Frattesi along with French striker Marcus Thuram.
However, Inzaghi brushed off the notion that Inter were favourites to win the Scudetto this season.
"I don’t like talking about favourites. I would like to win, the fans deserve it and our objective is to win trophies."
Inter have a relatively comfortable start to the season with early fixtures mainly against teams who finished in the bottom half of the table last term and also face promoted Cagliari.
"The fixture list also doesn't tell you much because last season when everyone said we had a tough run of games we actually climbed the table with eight wins and a draw in 10 rounds," Inzaghi said.
Inter start their campaign against Monza at San Siro on Saturday with a clash against AC Milan looming next month.