Big Rom TWIST! Lukaku transfer hopes take DRAMATIC change

Robin Bairner

• 8 Jul 2023 20:31 BST
• 3 min read

Chelsea’s prospects of selling Romelu Lukaku this summer have been boosted by the news that Inter face competition from Juventus in the race to sign the Belgium international.

Lukaku has spent the last season on loan at San Siro, where he excelled during the 2020/21 season, leading to a big-money move to Chelsea the following summer. After a poor campaign at Stamford Bridge, though, he returned to Italy.

Although Lukaku did not strike top form last term with Inter, the Serie A club are eager to retain the services of the No.9 but are struggling to strike a deal with Chelsea for the striker.

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Juventus enter Lukaku transfer race

The pressure is set to be ratcheted up on Inter in the days ahead as Corriere dello Sport reports that Juventus are ready to make a move for the centre forward.

There is also interest from the Saudi Pro League, where Al-Hilal are reportedly offering him a contract worth €45 million per season, but the forward wants to remain in Europe.

Indeed, he is willing to accept a pay cut to join Inter, according to reports in Italy. Last season, he earned in the region of €8.5m.

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The Nerazzurri, though, are struggling to match Chelsea’s €30m asking price for a player who has an Estimated Transfer Value (ETV) of €44.4m, according to FootballTransfers’ algorithm.

If they cannot close out a deal for Lukaku, that opens the door for Juventus to make a move, with the Turin side at risk of losing their first-choice centre-forward in the form of Dusan Vlahovic, who has been attracting interest from the Premier League and Manchester United in particular.

However, Juve supporters targeted Lukaku with racist chants during a Coppa Italia encounter last season, begging the question as to whether he would even want to go to the Serie A giants.

Regardless, the news that another club is interested in Lukaku spells positive news for Chelsea, who are working hard to offload the significant deadwood from Mauricio Pochettino’s squad.