One of Chelsea’s big priorities (as it has been for the last couple of years) is getting Romelu Lukaku off the books, either on loan or ideally, on a permanent transfer. The £100m-odd paid for him from Inter Milan has made that impossible so far – nobody has offered close to what we want, and we don’t want to realise a hideous loss on the books, so it’s all been loans for the striker so far.
But now it seems like a reunion is on the cards with Antonio Conte, this time in Naples. There’s still a big difference between valuations, but according to German insider Florian Plettenberg, personal terms have been agreed between the striker and Napoli for a 3 year deal.
That’s a huge step, and it gives us great confidence a permanent deal can finally be done once the transfer terms are hammered out. Plettenberg says Chelsea want €40m while Napoli have offered €25m. That’s a huge gulf, but we think all parties are incentivised enough to bridge the gap in the end.
It’s likely to take some time, and perhaps a lot of clauses and bonuses, but that €15m can be found somewhere.
Napoli will first have to sell Victor Osimhen, with PSG looking like favourites to sign the Nigerian. Once that’s done, they have the funds for Lukaku. Once that’s done, Chelsea have the funds to buy a new striker of their own.
There have been rumours about Dom Solanke bubbling up again today, and if we get something close to the €40m we want for Lukaku, we could imagine our interest in the Bournemouth striker really heating up.
