Romelu Lukaku is holding out for a transfer move to Inter Milan, despite having received a mega-money offer from the Saudi Pro League.
Lukaku is free to leave Chelsea, as long as the Blues can secure a fee, with the Premier League side keen to move on from the Belgian. He spent the campaign just gone at Inter, helping them to reach the Champions League final, where they lost to Manchester City.
But he missed a series of huge chances in that game, with Pep Guardiola's side edging the final 1-0. He has now returned to Chelsea ahead of another expected move this summer, despite having three more years to run on his contract at Stamford Bridge.
Inter remain interested in bringing him back to the San Siro, but there is also growing interest from Saudi Arabia. The country's sovereign investment fund the Public Investment Fund, is bankrolling the top four clubs in the Pro League to make a series of superstar signings.
Chelsea star N'Golo Kante and Real Madrid captain Karim Benzema have both already moved out to the Middle East, following in the footsteps of Cristiano Ronaldo. Lukaku though appears to be much less enthusiastic about such a move.
According to the Daily Mail, the striker has 're-asserted' that he has no plans to move to the Pro League. He is keen to remain in Europe and is instead awaiting a fresh offer from Inter to be submitted.
Lukaku's interest is said to lie in fighting for a place at Inter, with Chelsea willing to deal with the Serie A side. Discussions are ongoing, with the Blues keen to include a player exchange in the transfer.
Chelsea's preference is for a lucrative move to Saudi Arabia so they can at least recover the majority of the £90million fee they spent on Lukaku in the summer of 2021. The Blues need to offload a number of players, with several already in talks about moves to the Pro League.
But Lukaku's agent Sebastien Ledure has insisted that the ball remains in Inter's court, despite the Saudi interest in his client. He did insist though that Lukaku would not be crossing the Milan divide to AC.
"No talks ongoing with AC Milan. Romelu wants to stay in Europe; confirmed this by not joining Saudi now. Chelsea position: interested clubs have to present a firm offer. Inter have the ball in their court," he said.
Inter president Steven Zhang has already made it clear his club are heavily interested in bringing Lukaku back to Italy. But he admitted that it was up to Chelsea if a deal is to be struck.
"He [Lukaku] has shown to be a great forward for Inter, he’s an extraordinary guy. He’s under contract at Chelsea, so we’ll have to wait and speak with them to understand his situation," Zhang said.
"There are many positive things to reflect on this season, it needs to be a starting point to continue our growth day after day. A transfer window cannot be planned in a day. It’s important to stay competitive by retaining our best players."
