Earlier on Friday, we covered the positive angle from Corriere dello Sport regarding Chelsea’s deal to send Romelu Lukaku to Juventus and getting Dusan Vlahovic in return by paying some money on top.
It was claimed that the Blues were planning another bid for the Serbian, but Gazzetta dello Sport are on the other side of the fence, and firmly believe everything has stalled for now.
While Chelsea and Juventus ‘tried to make ends meet’, the situation was ‘more complex than expected’, to the point where the dialogue ‘has now stopped’.
There is no indication it will resume anytime soon, because the Italians refuse to budge from their €40m asking price, while the English club ‘are not willing to rise above €20-25m’, and that’s bonuses included.
As things stand, ‘there is no exchange’, meaning that Vlahovic does not go to Chelsea and stays at Juventus for next season.
Juventus, down their end, ‘cannot undersell’ their star player if they want to replace him with the right footballer, and whoever wants to buy Vlahovic ‘is faced with the problem of wages and commissions to be paid to him’.
This is all well and good for the Serbian, but it’s recalled that Lukaku’s situation at Chelsea is ‘much more complex’, especially after it was made clear how unwanted he is when he wasn’t even given a shirt number.
Wanting to leave, he ‘savoured the idea’ of moving to Juventus, but if the two clubs don’t strike up a conversation again, ‘he seriously risks being stuck’ with Pochettino at Chelsea.
The only light at the end of the tunnel is the Saudi Arabian market, which closes after the European one, meaning that if no one has bought him come September 2nd, there’s always that escape route.
