Chelsea delay Romelu Lukaku return date amid transfer talks with Inter Milan
helsea have delayed Romelu Lukaku’s return to pre-season training until next Monday in a bid to resolve his future.
The 30-year-old was due into Cobham on Wednesday but the club have pushed back his arrival date to avoid an awkward reunion with their striker.
Lukaku is keen to leave Chelsea after a nightmare £97.5milion return to Stamford Bridge two years ago.
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He is keen to return to Inter but Chelsea have rejected the first two offers, which did not come close to their asking price of up to £40m.
Juventus and Saudi Arabian club Al-Hilal are also interested but Lukaku only wants to rejoin Inter and is willing to forgo almost £1m a year to complete a move to San Siro.
Inter have significant financial challenges to overcome but increasingly accept they will have to spend the majority of the money raised from their sale of goalkeeper Andre Onana to Manchester United.
An initial loan offer was rejected a fortnight ago, while a loan offer with an obligation to buy for around £21m was also turned down over the weekend.
Chelsea are reluctant to loan Lukaku out, preferring to keep their seven loan spots open to younger players who have the potential to make the first team in future seasons.
This follows FIFA introducing limits to stop clubs like Chelsea from stockpiling players through a loan system.
