Chelsea striker Romelu Lukaku appears to be edging towards the exit door at Stamford Bridge as the summer transfer window starts to hot up.
The Belgian only returned to the Blues last summer for a fee of £97 million but scored just eight goals in last term's Premier League campaign. Thomas Tuchel is set for a busy transfer window this summer and it could be made all the busier with Inter Milan looking to bring Lukaku back to the San Siro.
The 29-year-old is eager to return to the club after just one year in west London, but Chelsea have rejected their first loan deal offer, although a new approach is expected. Lukaku has made no secret of his admiration for Inter, most famously in an ill-judged interview with Sky Italia back in December.
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"The fact that they [Inter Milan] didn't try to make me sign a new contract bothered me a bit, it hurt me even," Lukaku said in his controversial interview. "If Inter offered me a new contract, I would have stayed 100 per cent. That goes without saying.
"Also the fact that I hadn't won anything in England in eight years there bothered me a lot. So it was hard to turn down the chance to come back here with the team I have supported since I was a child."
A report from The Athletic has shone a light on a difference of opinions on what should happen with Lukaku from within Stamford Bridge. It states that while Lukaku's relationship with Tuchel remains incredibly strained, Boehly is yet to be convinced that losing a player signed last summer for such a big fee so soon is the right move.
What happens next may well come down to how badly damaged Lukaku's relationship with Tuchel is. If it truly is beyond repair then it would be unlikely Boehly would impose himself so emphatically on the situation and block a move.
