Amid Victor Osimhen transfer saga, Chelsea have reportedly agreed a fee with Aston Villa for Romelu Lukaku. The Blues have ‘lost patience’ with Lukaku’s preferred club this summer. Lukaku returned to Chelsea for £97m from Inter Milan in 2021. Things didn’t go as planned despite his “unfinished business” at Stamford Bridge. He criticized then-manager Thomas Tuchel in a bombshell interview. Lukaku also claimed he wanted to return to Inter Milan.
The striker has been out on loan from Chelsea for the last two seasons. He first returned to Inter Milan and then moved to Roma. During his time with Roma in the 2023/24 season, the Belgian scored 21 goals in 47 appearances.
Victor Osimhen & Lukaku saga
Chelsea aims to secure a fee for Romelu Lukaku this summer. Manchester United has shown interest, but Napoli is the frontrunner. Antonio Conte, now Napoli’s manager, previously coached Lukaku at Inter Milan. Rumors suggest a possible swap deal involving Victor Osimhen. Chelsea has targeted Osimhen for over a year. However, Napoli’s €100m asking price for Osimhen is an issue. Even including Lukaku, Chelsea might need to pay an additional €60m to €70m. This amount could exceed Chelsea’s budget in a relatively lean spending summer.
Preferred club for Romelu Lukaku
Reports in Italy suggest Lukaku only wants Napoli and has ‘given his word to Conte.’ However, it’s also reported that Chelsea have ‘agreed with Aston Villa’ for a move to Villa Park this summer. The transfer fee remains unclear. Chelsea want Lukaku to accept the move to Birmingham, putting his ‘back to the wall.’ Lukaku, however, ‘just wants to return to his old master.’ The Blues are ‘losing patience’ with Lukaku, who is currently training alone at Cobham while the squad is on a U.S. pre-season tour.
Villa are searching for a new striker to compete with Ollie Watkins. Backup option Jhon Duran wants to leave this summer for more game time. Duran joined Villa in January 2023 from Chicago for £15m. He was linked with a move to Chelsea and recently showed interest in West Ham.
According to reports, West Ham United had a £35 million bid for Duran turned down and have since shifted their focus to other targets, including Borussia Dortmund’s Niclas Füllkrug. While the Colombian international has expressed disinterest in a move to Saudi Arabia, he remains intent on leaving Aston Villa.
