Chelsea Reject £7m Loan Offer for Romelu Lukaku from European Giants

Chelsea have reportedly rejected an offer from Inter Milan to loan Romelu Lukaka for the upcoming season.

The Belgian striker joined Chelsea for a then club-record fee of £97.5 million in the summer of 2021. He had a mixed first season under Thomas Tuchel, scoring 15 times in 44 games across competitions.

Lukaku was allowed to join I Nerazzurri on a year-long loan spell for the 2022-23 campaign — the club where he spent two seasons before rejoining Chelsea. It seems that the Italian giants are keen on retaining the 30-year-old striker for another year.

According to the Telegraph’s Matt Law, Inter offered £7 million to retain Lukaku for 12 more months, but Chelsea rejected the bid. The Blues are set for a very busy transfer window as they look to trim down a bloated squad and add quality to their team.

Kai Havertz, as per ESPN, is set to join Arsenal for £67.5 million, while Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s future at the club is also highly uncertain. It remains to be seen what new manager Mauricio Pochetinno is planning with regard to the centre-forward position for the new season.

The Blues also have 21-year-old striker Armando Broja in their ranks and have used Raheem Sterling in the false nine role before. David Datro Fofana, 20, will also hope to get some meaningful playing time under Pochettino.