Having eventually accepted that Borussia Dortmund star Erling Haaland won’t be coming this summer, Chelsea are revving up their pursuit of a different center forward- Inter Milan’s Romelu Lukaku. Big Rom was of course a member of the Blues previously, but only know is he really hitting the level that he’s truly capable of reaching.
Inter is not really interested in selling, as the Blues reportedly offered €100m plus Marcos Alonso on Monday, only to see that bid rejected. However, they have now returned with a new and improved offer.
Chelsea are preparing a new bid to sign Romelu Lukaku. Proposal expected around €120/130m after opening bid turned down by Inter [€100m + Marcos Alonso involved in the deal]. ? #CFC
Chelsea are also offering Lukaku a long term contract for €12m net per season as salary.
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) August 3, 2021
As you can see from the tweet embedded above, transfer guru Fabrizio Romano reported Chelsea offering a larger amount of cash in order to get this deal over the line. The Serie A champions do have some financial issues to sort out, but their Belgian scoring machine isn’t a piece they want to part with.
According to Repubblica, an offer of around €150m would bring Inter to the table to bargain. Seems like a tall order for a 28-year-old, although no can deny the high quality that Lukaku possesses.
And if Chelsea, who have yet to make a major signing this summer, can bid 130 million Euro, then 150 isn’t out of the realm of possibility.
It looks like the Lukaku transfer saga has really only just begun, and it could be at least a week or so until this gets resolved.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank, partnered with News Now. Banks, the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry,” has regularly appeared in WGN, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune.