Chelsea's summer transfer work is set to hinge massively on the actions of both Milan sides. With the Rossineri's backroom reshuffle potentially causing issues that affect both ingoings and outgoings at Stamford Bridge, a similar story is emerging at Inter.
Under Mauricio Pochettino Chelsea are keen to get their business done early in order to meet a soft June 30 transfer deadline for accounting purposes. It is forcing them to consider all options both great and small when it comes to selling players and could see Christian Pulisic and Ruben Loftus-Cheek both become part of Stefano Pioli's side for a combined £35 million.
On the other way could be Mike Maignan. The Frenchman is on a shortlist of goalkeeper targets for the club this summer and could be available for £50 million. The 27-year-old is one of the main priorities for the position, football.london understands, but would be harder to acquire than his Milan rival Andre Onana.
He is the current favourite to replace Kepa Arrizabalaga as the number one at Stamford Bridge after the Spanish international's resurgence but end-of-season regression once more. He could be on his way out of the club with moves to Italy previously on the cards, though his large wages complicate matters.
Onana, who came for free from Ajax, would represent pure profit for Inter and may well be a player that is seen as most sellable due to their financial struggles. It is a chance for Chelsea to not only pick up a relative bargain for a Champions League final-worthy goalkeeper but also to start talks with the blue half of Milan.
Just like AC Milan have a steadily growing history with the Blues after deals for Fikayo Tomori and Olivier Giroud, Inter are indulging in their own build-up of links. Romelu Lukaku is the obvious and outstanding candidate here having been signed by Chelsea from Inter in 2021 for a then club-record fee of £97.5 million before being loaned back just 12 months later after a disastrous return to England.
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His loan is now set to be discussed once more between the two teams this summer after a burst of good form towards the end of the season showed what the 30-year-old was still capable of. With Inter also expecting to field offers for main striker Lautaro Martinez this summer, Chelsea are amongst those interested, Lukaku is an option being considered. For a reported £60 million, the Argentine star is considered a top option.
However, the one-year loan with an expectation of a second has not come to fruition just yet due to Lukaku's injury record and giant wages. As Inter look to balance the books and find efficiency, he is not an easy one to sanction for even a solitary year and could throw up hurdles for Todd Boehly and Co.
The Belgian is set to return to London to discuss potential options with the club and new manager Pochettino but the future is no clearer for him. Talks between Chelsea and Inter over Lukaku have already been set this month, according to reports, and the names of Martinez and Onana are likely to be flagged in discussions as well.
Kalidou Koulibaly, signed for £35 million last summer, is also said to be one that Inter are looking at for a defensive recruit after he struggled to sustain the same levels of quality that were shown in Serie A. With the number of overlapping interests at play it is hard not to see some of the many transactions and moves being completed.
Lukaku, though, is the big one. With three years left on his deal at SW6 he is a major financial black hole for Chelsea and is far from certain to be guaranteed gametime at Inter, even if they do sell. With all parties seeking a different outcome, Saudi Arabia might have come to the rescue.
Goal report that Al-Hilal, the Riyadh-based side that failed in an attempt to lure Lionel Messi to the Middle East, have held talks with Lukaku over a move to the Saudi Pro League this summer. With a £16 million offer made to him, it is said Chelsea have swiftly declined that with the aim of recouping over £50 million for their failed forward.
Al-Hilal are also keen to sign Neymar from Paris-Saint German this window, yet another player Chelsea are interested in. After Al-Ittihad moved to sign N'Golo Kante on a free, the squad clearout may well be decided by just how deep the Saudi pockets truly are as Chelsea weigh up the chance of selling Lukaku or using him as leverage in a deal to sign Martinez and Onana.
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