Chelsea do not want to sell Romelu Lukaku and the Belgian is not ready to leave the club permanently amid interest from Inter Milan, it has been reported.
The Blues have entered official talks with Inter over a move for the 29-year-old, with a loan move looking most likely this summer.
The most recent reports have stated that Chelsea could lower their demands of a loan fee to €15 million for the season due to Inter’s struggling financial situation.
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Lukaku struggled for form after arriving at Stamford Bridge for a club-record £97.5 million fee, failing to live up to his 30-goal-season that he had at Inter the previous campaign.
Simone Inzaghi is looking to bring the Belgian back to the San Siro as he looks to challenge for the Serie A once again, with Lukaku winning the competition before departing for Chelsea.
The new Chelsea owners have given their blessing for Lukaku to depart, a move which Tuchel agrees with as he is set to leave for at least one season.
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When asked about reports stating that Lukaku would ask the new owners to leave the club towards the end of last season, head coach Tuchel said: “I think if he plans to talk with the owner it is not his plan to talk with me!
"It’s fair enough. Let’s see if he gets a meeting! It is his right. We will talk to anybody. We will evaluate any situation of any player including Romelu. We will see what is going to happen and what the plans are.
"That’s what it is sometimes in football, the attention is so high that sometimes it attracts situations that you don’t want to have before big matches. It’s the way it is. For me it is not a distraction and hopefully for everybody that works on the team and the team itself it is not.”
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It was believed that Lukaku would depart on two consecutive loan moves before a permanent deal would be struck.
However, the Times have now reported that neither Lukaku or Chelsea are keen for a permanent deal.
Chelsea do not want to sell the Belgium striker, the report states, and Lukaku is ‘not ready’ to leave permanently either.
It is unclear as to whether all parties believe that the Belgian can return after a year in Italy and fit back into Chelsea’s plans but a loan move has been agreed after Todd Boehly held talks with Inter Milan and Lukaku’s representatives over the phone.
Topics: Chelsea, Chelsea Transfer News & Rumours, Romelu Lukaku, Inter Milan, Football
Nick Emms