Pochettino signs off painful £63.1m loss on unwanted Chelsea star; Fabrizio Romano claims move hinges on PSG raid for Man Utd target
New Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino
Chelsea will this week look to usher through the exit of Romelu Lukaku after naming a lowly fee for the Belgian striker, with a surprise move to a Serie A giant gathering pace after Inter Milan were ruled out the running by Fabrizio Romano.
The burly Belgian was a mammoth club-record signing back in summer 2021, arriving in a £97.5m move from Inter Milan. The move at the time looked ill-fated with Lukaku making clear his wish to stay with the Nerazzurri, whom he’d joined two years earlier from Manchester United.
But having scored 64 times in 95 games for Inter, Chelsea’s offer simply left the cash-strapped Italians with little choice to sell.
However, Lukaku failed to settle back in London, scoring 15 times in 59 appearances of a stop-start season. And with confirmation of his unhappiness coming to the surface after Lukaku released an explosive interview, Chelsea – and then boss Thomas Tuchel – were forced to discipline the striker.
As a result, it was no surprise when Lukaku was allowed to leave on loan for Inter in summer 2022.
Just a year later though and Lukaku’s career is now at a major crossroads.
Chelsea are desperate to get him off their wage bill this summer. And having ruled out another year’s loan, they have made it clear to suitors that only a cash sale will do.
To that end, the Blues have stuck a €40m (£34.4m) fee on Lukaku’s head. And with Mauricio Pochettino deciding not to include Lukaku on Chelsea’s pre-season tour of the USA, Lukaku will remain in London to work on his fitness and clarification on his future.
Inter out the running for Lukaku; Juventus in driving seat for deal
According to Romano, Pochettino is “100% alligned with the board” over Lukaku’s sale this summer.
However, Inter’s perilous financial state means a permanent deal for Lukaku will not go ahead. The Nerazzurri had been keen to take the star back on loan for another season.
However, Chelsea’s demands for a straight sale only means the 30-year-old has likely played his last game for the club.
Thankfully for the Blues, they are hopefully of striking a deal to sell the 108-times capped striker to Juventus.
Like Inter, they too have to watch their finances carefully, especially in light of missing UCL qualification.
The Bianconeri, though, do have a plan in place whereby they can finance his signing.
And Romano reports that their chances of bringing the striker to the Allianz Stadium depend almost entirely on offloading Dusan Vlahovic first.
The Serbian striker has been cleared to leave if a suitor matches their €70m asking price.
And while the 23-year-old Juve star has been linked with both Manchester United and Chelsea, it is PSG who are leading the charge.
Should PSG firm up their interest and seal the deal, Juve will use the funds to bring in Lukaku.
Per Tuttosport, Lukaku has already agreed terms with Juve over a €11m a year net contract (£180,000 a week).
That salary package, however, does seem ambitious for a club needing to watch their expenditures. Nonetheless, they claims Lukaku’s decision to negotiate with Juve has angered Inter tremendously. So much so, they have now broken off all negotiations with the striker.
Should the move to Juve go through, Chelsea will be signing off a £63.1m loss on their initial investment.
