Chelsea were amusingly linked with Spurs legend and wantaway Harry Kane yesterday, though him going anywhere other than Manchester United (especially Chelsea!) would be very, very surprising indeed. But Chelsea do appear to be on the lookout for a new striker (sorry, Tammy), and another familiar name just might be a potential and realistic option.
Welcome back home, Romelu Lukaku?
The former Chelsea prospect, now pretty much in his prime having just turned 28 years old, has just won the Scudetto at Inter Milan, managed by former Chelsea manager Antonio Conte. But Conte is considering his own future, as the club’s financial troubles mean that they might need to dismantle the squad to raise some much-needed funds, and, unsurprisingly, Conte is unwilling to be a part of that transition.
And Conte’s future could have a direct bearing on Lukaku’s future — clearout or no clearout — with earlier reports claiming that the man who just scored the 250th goal of his career (63 in 97 at Inter) is willing to stay but only as long as Conte stays as well.
If Lukaku were to leave, Chelsea would be an obvious destination and one that perhaps Romelu could once again find in his heart, as HLN’s Kristof Terreur claimed recently.
"Inter are in talks to get a deal with an investment company. I think Romelu wants to stay he's very happy, but the main thing is will Conte stay? If one English team can convince Lukaku it would be Chelsea." - @HLNinEngeland on our Pod this week
— Simon Phillips (@siphillipssport) May 15, 2021
https://t.co/vd4zlvrQ0u
Another Belgian journalist, Sach Tavolieri has even gone as far as to claim that Chelsea have been “in contact” with Lukaku’s agent, with Inter “likely” willing to do business around €80m. Perhaps we could negotiate that down to make it less of a bitter pill to swallow to get one of our own back to the Bridge.
In any case, Conte’s set for showdown talks with Inter chief Beppe Marotta this week. What happens next could be very interesting.
Avec l’annonce du départ possible de #Conte, se pose la question de celui de #Lukaku. L’#Inter serait susceptible de le vendre pour ~ 80M€. Notre #DiablesRouges pourrait retrouver la #PremierLeague & son club de coeur #ChelseaFC, déjà en contacts avec son agent. Wait and see... pic.twitter.com/QHnbt0dQBX
— Sacha Tavolieri (@sachatavolieri) May 17, 2021