Tottenham Hotspur registered a 1-0 win over Watford at the weekend and after the tie, Antonio Conte admitted he has “great affection” for Chelsea striker Romelu Lukaku.
The pair worked together at Inter Milan between 2019 and 2021, and were key in helping the Nerazzurri win the title last season. The 28-year-old’s form convinced the Blues to invest €115m on him in the last window.
Lukaku failed to replicate his Inter form and has publicly admitted his issues at the club. His interview with Sky Italia, where he opened the door to return to the San Siro, saw Thomas Tuchel leave the Belgian out of his squad to face Liverpool on Sunday.
Gazzetta dello Sport suggest the ex-Everton man could follow Conte to the north London club next summer, if his situation at Chelsea doesn’t get resolved.
Spurs are also in the market for Fiorentina star Dušan Vlahović. If they decide to reunite Lukaku with Conte, they could end their interest in the Serbian, giving Juventus a free run to sign him.
If Chelsea were to sell him, La Repubblica questions who can afford him in the current market, considering the Champions League winners paid €115m and offered him a contract worth €12m per year.
As per the report, Conte is his ‘great admirer’ and so is Fabio Paratici, who tried signing Lukaku for Juventus before he joined Inter in 2019. Spurs have Kane and Daniel Levy is asking £130m to let the star leave.
La Repubblica are of the belief only Manchester City, who will look for a new striker next summer, can afford to sign Lukaku.
However, Chelsea director Marina Granovskaia is not in favour of any operation that could see her player join either Pep Guardiola’s side or Tottenham.
The European champions are not willing to strengthen their Premier League rivals and Granovskaia, for her part, ‘does not in the least take into consideration’ Lukaku’s sale.
La Repubblica further state: ‘it could be the day [Monday] of an apology, also hoped for by his agent Pastorello, who has been working for days to mend the rift between Lukaku and Chelsea’.
