Chelsea transfers: Blues step up pursuit of Inter Milan’s Romelu Lukaku
Chelsea supporters are no strangers to their team leaving it late in the transfer window. 11th hour agreements aren’t out of the ordinary at Stamford Bridge as Marina Granovskaia likes to negotiate the best possible deal, no matter the circumstances. This has gotten the Blues into some trouble in the past as they’ve made panic purchases like Danny Drinkwater and Davide Zappacosta. It goes without saying the nightmares of those windows are back to haunt Chelsea fans this summer.
The Blues have spent the last two months courting some of Europe’s best No. 9s. Granovskaia and her crew have explored the transfers of Romelu Lukaku, Erling Haaland and Harry Kane this summer to no avail thus far. Matt Law of The Telegraph reported via The London is Blue Podcast that Chelsea has approached Tottenham with two Harry Kane bids and both were promptly rejected. Further, Dortmund is holding firm to its stance on Haaland. Therefore, the Blues have set their sights on the latter of the three.
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Chelsea has stepped up its pursuit of Inter Milan striker Romelu Lukaku.
Chelsea had its most recent bid for Lukaku rejected by Inter. The Blues reportedly offered £85 million plus left wingback Marcos Alonso for the striker, but they will need to raise that value in order to get the Italians to the negotiating table. It is said that should they increase their offer, Inter officials will leave the decision up to the Belgian forward regarding his future given the club’s current financial struggles. That is when things truly get interesting.
The stars are aligned perfectly for this move at the moment. There’s always been a sense that Lukaku has some unfinished business at Stamford Bridge. The 28-year-old spent three seasons as a hopeful Didier Drogba replacement from 2011 to 2014 before leaving Chelsea for Everton. Three years later, the Blues were ready to buy Lukaku after a wildly successful stint at Goodison Park. Manchester United swooped in and stole the striker late, leaving Chelsea in a peculiar and unstable situation. The reigning Champions League winners still haven’t replaced Diego Costa up top despite numerous attempts at trying to do so.
Lukaku’s connection with the Blues is not the only ideal part of the situation though. Antonio Conte’s exit as Inter boss was supposed to set the wheels in motion on the No. 9s return, but it hasn’t changed things at this moment in time. It’ll be up to money and Chelsea’s relentless pursuit to persuade Lukaku to leave Milan right now. The recent reports are enough to discourage many of those monitoring the Blues’ striker chase, but the widespread talks of Chelsea’s interest are actually a positive thing. This is perhaps the first time this summer there are a lot of discussions about a centralized target. Momentum is everything in the transfer market.
If this deal doesn’t materialize though, the Blues could be in real trouble. The poor finishing from last season carried over into their latest friendly against Arsenal. Thomas Tuchel’s men won the match, albeit far less comfortable than it should have been. Tammy Abraham, Michy Batshuayi and Timo Werner combined to squander an abundance of chances throughout the contest. This only furthered the concerns as August rolls around. Time will be a big factor in whether or not this deal gets over the line. The two sides are a match made in heaven—especially right now.
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Do you think the Blues should continue their pursuit of Lukaku or look somewhere else? Let us know in the comments or on Twitter!