By Mukwuzi Joseph
Internazionale remain determined not to sell Romelu Lukaku after rejecting Chelsea’s bid of €100m (£85.4m), including Marcos Alonso, for the Belgium striker.
Thomas Tuchel is keen to sign a striker and Lukaku is seen as a more realistic target than Erling Haaland, who is Likely to remain at Borussia Dortmund for another season. Chelsea hope Inter’s financial difficulties will eventually force them into selling their top asset and they are weighing up whether to test the Serie A club’s resolve with an improved offer.
Lukaku played a key role in Inter winning Serie A last season, scoring 24 goals and registering 11 assists. The 28-year-old has blossomed into one of the world’s top strikers since leaving Manchester United for Italy in 2019 and is seen by Tuchel as a player who can turn Chelsea’s inconsistent attack into one capable of challenging for the Premier League title.
Chelsea have also looked at a deal for Haaland but have received little encouragement that Dortmund are going to shift their stance on the 21-year-old. Dortmund are under little financial pressure after selling jadon Sancho to United for £73M and it is likely to take an enormous offer to make them consider parting company with Haaland.
Chelsea, who have put Tammy Abraham up for sale, need extra firepower after sELLING Olivier Giroud to Milan and have been weighing up several options. They have monitored Bayern Munich’s Robert Lewandowski and are interested in Tottenham ’s Harry Kane However they acknowledge that the chances of Spurs selling to their London rivals are almost nonexistent.
