The opening talks between Inter and Chelsea to set up the return of Romelu Lukaku were prolific, although the sides will have to negotiate some more. The Blues are open to sending him back to Milan on a season-long loan to spare Thomas Tuchel the same issues he experienced last season.
As per La Gazzetta dello Sport, the two clubs are only a handful of million apart as it pertains to the fee for the temporary spell. The Pensioners have lowered their initial €25M request. The Nerazzurri are willing to spend a little to make it happen.
The Inter and Chelsea brass had a video conference, alongside the lawyer of Lukaku, to examine the move. The striker is not taking into consideration any other destination. New owner Todd Boehly has empowered his coach. The club wants to rip the band-aid off despite the dimension of their previous investment. There will be further summits, but there is a ton of momentum towards an agreement, especially considering how improbable the transfer looked at first. La Benemata need to sign the ace by June 30th for fiscal reasons.
The Blues expressed interest in Denzel Dumfries, but such acquisition would proceed separately. The Serie A side has slapped an early €45M price tag on the fullback. The counterpart deemed it high. The Nerazzurri have put their chase of Paulo Dybala on the back burner to focus on the Belgian star. However, they might ultimately sign them both.
Our Take on Inter Nearing an Agreement with Chelsea for Lukaku
It looks like the transfer is happening mainly thanks to the determination of the center-forward. The tension in the Chelsea locker room might have been more substantial than what surfaced in 2021/2022 if their management is content with just giving him away.