Unless you’ve lived under a big rock for the past month or so, you’ll be fully aware that Romelu Lukaku wants out of Chelsea and is eager to return to Inter.
While there’s no denying Thomas Tuchel would like to be rid of the Belgium international, the Serie A side can’t afford to take the player away full-time, meaning the only option was said to be some sort of complex loan.
That is, however, until the idea of including an Inter player in the deal came along, which could open up a few more doors for Chelsea.
Gazzetta dello Sport on Thursday say ‘a ray of sunshine has appeared’ for Lukaku, which is that the Blues ‘have opened for a sale’, but only as long as ‘the deal and the outlines are positive’ for everyone.
Therefore, one of Chelsea’s terms was that ‘no free loan’ would be agreed, but ‘yes to the possibility of discussing a negotiation that also includes a player ready to take the opposite route’.
It’s said that instead of one of the trio, ‘Chelsea put the name of Denzel Dumfries at the top of the list’, who only arrived at the Serie A club last year to replace Achraf Hakimi.
This means that ‘under these conditions, Inter are ready to sit down at a table to seek a complicated understanding’.
With Lukaku bought for €115m last year and Dumfries valued at ‘at least €40m’ by the Italians, the ball is now passed to the clubs, as it’s ‘up to them to find the magic formula to close the operation, taking into account that Inter cannot afford a heavy investment and Chelsea aim to save face’ after their costly mistake.
