Chelsea Football Club are in for a major overhaul of their squad before the upcoming European soccer season. After the London-based club’s mammoth spending spree over the past two transfer windows, which saw the club buy more than 15 players, Todd Boehly is now looking to clear a huge chunk of the squad, which has already seen more than 10 players leave the club permanently this transfer window.
Mauricio Pochettino has recently taken over the reins at the soccer club, with the Argentine looking forward to welcoming his full squad to pre-season training. Among all other players, the Chelsea head coach will also expect to see want-away stars Pierre Emerick Aubameyang, Romelu Lukaku, and Hakim Ziyech return to pre-season training before the squad departs for the USA for their official pre-season tour.
Inter Milan in negotiations with Chelsea for Romelu Lukaku
Romelu Lukaku could be the latest outgoing from this Chelsea squad, with his most rumored destination being recent Champions League Runners-up Inter Milan. The Belgian International has already been on loan with the Serie-A club and was also the main cog in the title-winning team under Antonio Conte in the 2020-21 season, scoring 24 goals and bagging the Capocannoiere along the way.
According to transfer expert Fabrizio Romano, Inter has submitted a second bid for Romelu Lukaku to land the Belgian International in Italy. The bid is worth £30 million ($33.4 million) and is said to have a different structure of payment and additional add-ons to the first bid. After tabling the bid, both clubs are expected to hold discussions in the next few hours over the 30-year-old striker’s transfer agreement and make a decision over the striker’s future.
Inter have submitted second bid worth €30m to sign Romelu Lukaku. 🔵🇧🇪
Chelsea and Inter will discuss in the next hours to make a decision about Lukaku situation.
He wants to continue in Europe — no chance for Saudi move as of now. pic.twitter.com/ZGtl6Ox6CG
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) July 12, 2023
Over the last round of talks, Chelsea communicated to Inter Milan that they value Lukaku at £40 million ($52 million). Currently, Inter’s Lukaku bid stands way behind Chelsea’s valuation of their player, and the clubs are going to most likely advance on finding the middle ground during their meetings.
Lukaku has been linked with other clubs as well, but if the rumor mill is to be believed, his most likely destination is the blue side of Milan.
Al-Hilal £70M rejected by Romelu Lukaku
Romelu Lukaku has also attracted interest from the Saudi Arabian club Al-Hilal, which offered him a significant pay rise to attract him to the Saudi Pro League. Most recently, Lukaku’s Chelsea teammate Kalidou Koulibaly also shifted to Al-Hilal in order to continue his career in the Saudi Pro League after accepting an “important” salary.
However, Belgium’s top-scorer outright rejected Al-Hilal’s transfer proposal, which would have seen him earn a total package of £70.3 million ($91 million) over the course of his contract.
With Romelu Lukaku willing to only continue his footballing career in Europe, the striker will have to wait and watch for these two historic clubs to come to an agreement for his sale. In the meantime, it remains to be seen whether Lukaku will return to pre-season training with the striker’s mindset on a move to the Nerazurri.
Where will we see Lukaku play in the upcoming season? Let us know your opinions in the comments section.
