Romelu Lukaku is determined to fight Chelsea’s attempts to sell him to Al-Hilal so he can return to Inter Milan.
The 30-year-old is already the highest-paid player at Stamford Bridge, but turned down a further £6m pay rise to move to Al-Hilal. He wants to return for a second season on loan at Champions League finalists Inter and is willing to halve his £325,000-a-week salary — which he did during his spell with the Italians — at Chelsea to allow the move to happen.
The Blues want to cash in on Lukaku with a hefty transfer fee and get his salary off the books. AC Milan were rumoured to be interested in the Belgium international but no contact has been made with them.
Inter have also expressed an interest in Chelsea’s defensive duo Cesar Azpilicueta and Trevoh Chalobah. Azpilicueta’s future is in doubt after Chelsea signed right-back Malo Gusto from Lyon in January.
Gusto, 20, spent the latter part of last season on loan following his £31m transfer but will return to Chelsea for pre-season training. Chelsea captain Azpilicueta is not actively looking for a move this summer but Inter see an opportunity to sign the 33-year-old for a cut-price fee, with Chelsea overstocked in defence.
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Inter have also asked about signing Chalobah on a season-long loan. The 23-year-old’s future at Chelsea is in doubt after the club recalled Levi Colwill from his Brighton loan and he will join Mauricio Pochettino’s men in pre-season.
Even if Chelsea sell Kalidou Koulibaly, who is set to follow the likes of N’Golo Kante, Hakim Ziyech and Edouard Mendy to Saudi Arabia, they still have plenty of defensive talent, with Wesley Fofana, Benoit Badiashile, Thiago Silva and Colwill all demanding first-team spots. Chalobah is open to leaving Chelsea this summer and went to Milan to meet representatives from Inter last week.
AC Milan are eyeing Christian Pulisic after cooling their interest in Ruben Loftus-Cheek. The pair will be allowed to leave Chelsea, who are also open to offers for Marc Cucurella, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Callum Hudson-Odoi and Ethan Ampadu.
