It appears that Chelsea have opened the door for a Romelu Lukaku exit, which has excited the Italian press.
Gazzetta dello Sport have an article on the matter on Wednesday, explaining that a meeting did take place between Thomas Tuchel and his bosses, who gave the German manager ‘full powers on the transfer market’.
Such a move ‘immediately produced the first effect on the Lukaku front’ over at Chelsea, as they know ‘the pairing between the German manager and Romelu will certainly not be proposed again next season’.
Thus, they have ‘for the first time opened the possibility of a farewell to the striker to Inter’, which is the only move the Belgium international wants.
However, despite this crack being created, ‘the road ahead remains very narrow’ and it still ‘is not under the conditions the Nerazzurri club were hoping for’.
That’s because Chelsea won’t let their star striker leave on a free loan, refusing to do so a year after they spent €115m or so on the player, as this would tarnish their image and set a bad precedent.
The easier option would be a paid temporary deal, but it would still require a fee of €23m, as that’s Lukaku’s ‘amortisation figure in the club’s balance sheet’.
There is a third option, which is ‘the possibility of an exchange’, meaning ‘the arrival of Lukaku in Milan and the reverse journey of a player that Tuchel likes’.
Those could be Milan Skriniar, Alessandro Bastoni or Lautaro Martinez, but all this remains to be seen.
Either way, ‘it’s a step forward in the negotiation’, seen as a ‘state of progress in a deal that sees Lukaku as the main actor and Inter as very interested spectators’.
This is all backed uo by Corriere dello Sport, putting the amortisation figure at €25m, and Chelsea are ‘looking for a club willing to pay this amount’ for a loan, with a promise to buy him once the season ends.
However, these are not ‘feasible’ conditions for the Italians, which both Tuchel and Lukaku know, and the player is intent on refusing all other offers to get what he wants and ‘push Chelsea to please him’.
His argument would be for the club to let him go to Inter, do well there, when he would ‘return to Chelsea revalued compared to now and therefore can be sold at better conditions’.
Lukaku will need to meet Tuchel for this, and ‘aims to get the white smoke by June 30th’, which would help Inter take advantage of the Growth Decree.
