Chelsea could eye a swap deal with Inter Milan that would see Romelu Lukaku return to Italy, according to reports. It comes as the Belgian has been heavily linked with an exit this summer.
That is despite it only being one season since he made the £97.5 million club record return to Stamford Bridge from the Nerazzurri. The 29-year-old only managed to score eight goals in the Premier League, raising questions over his form.
Discussing his ability, manager Thomas Tuchel said: “Romelu has scored goals all his life. It’s in his body and I tell him all the time to trust his body, trust his brain and to trust his instincts because he knows how to do it [finishing].
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“He will never lose the ability to score goals, he just needs to rediscover that spark and hopefully after these two goals he can continue in this way. It’s always a good moment for a striker when they score goals and hopefully he can trust his instincts and score more for us.”
However, his return may not be very long lived, as reports have suggested that he could soon make the move back to the San Siro. Due to the transfer fee paid though, it could make the deal complicated, especially given Inter’s financial situation.
That problem could be solved with a swap deal, as the Evening Standard reports there are three players of interest to the Blues who could make the switch. They claim that Lautaro Martinez, Alessandro Bastoni and Milan Skriniar could all be involved in a move.
The former has been linked previously as Tuchel tries to solve his goal scoring conundrum, while Bastoni is a player that has been heavily talked about with a move to Tottenham. For the Italian defender and Skriniar, they could be viewed as key players to replace the outgoing Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen.
Whether the Serie A club would be willing to make the deal, or if the players would want the transfer, remains unknown. However, it could be a move that benefits both parties.