Inter
Milan are in talks with Chelsea about re-signing Romelu Lukaku on loan this
summer.
Lukaku, who joined Chelsea for a club-record fee of £97.5m from Inter last
August, wants to return to the San Siro after a disappointing 2021/22
campaign.
However, the deal must make sense financially for Chelsea if they are to
sanction the striker's move back to Italy.
Inter cannot afford to sign Lukaku - who scored 64 goals in 95 games and
helped them to the Serie A title during his time at the club - on a
permanent deal.
The Belgium international's lawyer met with Inter last week to enquire about
the feasibility of a potential move back to Serie A, according to Sky in
Italy.
Inter chief executive Giuseppe Marotta has said the club are in "no rush"
over Lukaku's potential return but remain keen on re-signing him this
summer.
Inter are in the market for a forward and Marotta said he "hopes" Paulo
Dybala will sign for them after leaving Juventus upon the expiry of his
contract.
Lukaku has now endured two unproductive spells at Chelsea. The 29-year-old's
first was between 2011 and 2014, when he joined the Blues as a teenager from
Anderlecht but spent the majority of his time on loan at West Brom and
Everton.
He returned to Stamford Bridge last summer as one of the world's top
strikers, but scored 15 goals in 44 games across all competitions for the
Blues, and spent much of the second half of the campaign out of the starting
XI.
The former Manchester United striker also upset Chelsea in December when he
gave an unsanctioned interview to Sky in Italy in which he appeared to
question head coach Thomas Tuchel's tactics, and expressed a desire to
return to Inter in the future.
Which positions are Chelsea targeting?
Sky Sports News' senior reporter Melissa Reddy:
Chelsea are pressing ahead with their summer recruitment plans now that the
£4.25bn Todd Boehly-led consortium takeover of the club has been completed.
The Blues have a verbal agreement already in place with Sevilla defender
Jules Kounde, with the Spanish club preferring a quick deal as they aim to
balance their books before June 30.
Talks on a deal for Kounde had collapsed last year but there is optimism
from all parties it will get done this time.
Paris Saint-Germain's Presnel Kimpembe is part of a shortlist of central
defensive options and is Thomas Tuchel's preference. Atletico Madrid's Jose
Gimenez and RB Leipzig's Josko Gvardiol are also among those being looked
at.
Chelsea like Monaco midfielder Aurelien Tchouameni but the expectation is he
will end up at Real Madrid. PSV's Ibrahim Sangare is among the alternatives
scouted.
What should Chelsea do this summer?
Sky Sports football journalist Joe Shread:
Given Chelsea were crowned European champions just 12 months ago, it's
perhaps surprising to hear Thomas Tuchel talking of the need for a "rebuild"
this summer, as he did after his side ended their season with a home win
over Watford. But that Champions League triumph in 2021 came out of the blue
- Chelsea were fourth in the Premier League that year - and this arduous
campaign has exposed the issues in the head coach's squad.
While Jurgen Klopp and Pep Guardiola have been able to build squads to meet
their specific demands, Tuchel has had to pull together a group of players
signed by six different managers. With Todd Boehly now in charge, the time
has come to back Tuchel and allow to him build his own squad capable of
launching a title challenge for the first time since 2017.
The work must start in defence, where the departing Antonio Rudiger and
Andreas Christensen must be replaced with two quality centre-backs. The time
may also have come to replace Cesar Azpilicueta - a Chelsea legend but now
32 and reportedly keen on a return to Spain - with a more dynamic
right-back. The Blues' reliance on Marcos Alonso - after Ben Chilwell's
injury - cost them this season and with the left-back also said to be keen
to go back to Spain, signing a replacement should be on the to-do list.
In midfield, decisions need to be made on the futures of N'Golo Kante and
Jorginho, who are in their 30s and have just one year remaining on their
contracts. Chelsea cannot allow them to go the same way as Rudiger and
Christensen and leave for free, so must decide whether to offer them new
deals this summer or let them go for a fee. Even if Kante stays, a younger
option in the France midfielder's mould should be sought given the amount of
time he has been unavailable in recent seasons.
Attack is the area of Chelsea's team that received the most investment in
recent windows, but the Blues should not be put off from looking to
strengthen their goalscoring options if an opportunity presents itself. The
last player to score 20 goals in a season for the club was Eden Hazard, and
he left three years ago, so clearly there is room for improvement in that
area.
top