‘Furious’ Inter Milan ‘pull out’ of race to sign Chelsea star Romelu Lukaku as Blues hold firm on price tag
INTER MILAN have reportedly pulled out of the chase to sign Romelu Lukaku after being left “furious” that the star had held talks with Juventus.
The Belgian forward arrived back at Chelsea for his second stint for a whopping £97.5 million back in 2021 from Inter.
But after just one difficult season back at the Blues he was shipped off back to the Serie A club on loan last season.
Lukaku scored 14 goals in 37 appearances during his loan spell with Inter last term and helped them to reach the Champions League final.
Inter were desperate to keep the 30-year-old forward but they have so far been refusing to meet Chelsea’s asking price – despite it being vastly reduced from what they paid for him two years ago.
They launched a second bid of £27.5m this week – with the Blues demanding £34m – but have now allegedly pulled out of a potential deal.
That is because Inter chiefs were raging to discover that Lukaku’s representatives had been holding talks with their domestic rivals Juventus over a potential transfer move.
And now Juventus are looking to push ahead and land the striker, who is not part of Chelsea boss Mauricio Pochettino’s plans, after making a £32.2m offer that also includes potential add-ons worth an extra £2.16m.
However, that depends on whether they can offload Serbian forward Dusan Vlahovic – a player that the Blues have no interest in.
Transfer guru has been providing updates on the situation throughout the day.
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He started by tweeting: “Inter have decided to leave negotiations for Romelu Lukaku. Deal OFF.
“Chelsea to be informed soon. Inter are furious after being informed of talks between Lukaku and Juventus.
“Juve and Saudi remain as options for Lukaku now. Juve can only proceed if they sell Vlahovic.”
Romano then added: “Deal OFF with Inter doesn’t change Chelsea plans: he’s expected to return on Monday but won’t travel to USA with the squad.
“Understand Pochettino never spoke to Lukaku: Chelsea want him to leave. Juve, Saudi or any other club ready to pay €40m.”
And he then concluded with: “Juventus bid for Romelu Lukaku €37.5m plus €2.5m add-ons.
“Proposal ONLY valid if they’ll be able to sell Dusan Vlahovic by August 4. “Chelsea hope to sell Lukaku before August. Chelsea are NOT interested in Dusan Vlahovic despite rumours of swap deal.”
Lukaku joined Chelsea at 17 from Anderlecht but after three years and two loan moves he joined Everton.
After spells with Manchester United and Inter, the forward established himself as a prolific scorer in Serie A.
It earned him a move back to London but midway through that first season Lukaku revealed he was unsettled in the English capital.
That proved the beginning of the end for him and five months later he was back in Milan.
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