According to Sky Sports, Chelsea and Inter Milan are back in talks to find a solution for Romelu Lukaku, a year on after the former signed the Belgian from the latter for a record-breaking fee of 101,7 million pounds.
The 2020/21 European champions signed Lukaku last summer, but troubles on and off the pitch hindered the forward’s return to his former club, with both the parties now seeking to cut their relationship short just a year into a five-year contract.
Financial distress and Premier League-forced inflation mean Inter cannot afford to sign Lukaku in a straight-cash deal.
The Italian giants are instead focusing on a temporary agreement, albeit it remains to be seen whether Chelsea deem any such deal feasible given their heavy outlay on the forward the summer before. The player returned to his former club with a point to prove ahead of the 2021/22 season, but scored just 15 times in 44 appearances across all competitions.
Meanwhile, as per 90MIN, Chelsea are ready to move on from Lukaku and focus their attention on AC Milan’s Rafael Leao. The Portuguese winger – who can also play as a centre-forward – scored 14 goals and provided 10 assists as Stefano Pioli’s side returned to the Italian throne more than a decade after their previous title win and was named Serie A’s MVP of the season for his contributions.
However, Milan are reluctant to lose their star asset, despite technical director Paolo Maldini verbally confirming that he does have a 150 million euros release clause in his contract. Instead, the Rossoneri are keen to tie the Portugal international down to a longer deal in an attempt to ward off interest from other European supergiants, such as Chelsea, Manchester City, and Real Madrid.
