It wouldn’t be a day of the week ending in a Y without a sweet little Matt Law exclusive in The Daily Telegraph, and today his focus is on Romelu Lukaku and his endless Inter Milan transfer saga.
After a couple of really good years playing there, Chelsea bought him, used him for a season then loaned him back. Ironically they charged us so much for him when we bought him that they now can’t afford to buy him back, but we don’t want to just let them take him on loan every year.
Law reports that after having had one loan offer rejected, the Inter are ready to try again. They will aim to include a £30m option to buy at the end of a year of the loan, while Chelsea will push to make it an obligation to buy.
There is a very large difference between those two things, but according to the piece “there is a feeling in Italy that a deal can be agreed.” Still, there’s no way Chelsea will accept an optional fee, so this second offer feels slightly redundant.
Lukaku has apparently turned down offers from AC Milan and from Saudi Arabian club Al Hilal which Chelsea would happily have accepted, and predictably the club are getting tired of bending to his wins.
With so many other players in their out tray now already gone, Lukaku, perhaps the highest valued of all those on the way out, will now become the club’s focus.