Chelsea 'slap £38m price tag on Romelu Lukaku'

After a disappointing first spell at Stamford Bridge, the 30-year-old returned to West London in the summer of 2021 as Chelsea's marquee signing for a £97.5m fee from Inter Milan.

However, within a few months of his arrival, Lukaku made a rod for his own back with the fans by admitting that he was struggling to get to grips with Thomas Tuchel's system and wanted to return to Inter.

Lukaku got his wish last summer after netting just eight Premier League goals for Chelsea, but his fortunes did not improve too much at San Siro, where he failed to replicate his goalscoring form from his days under Antonio Conte.

The former Manchester United and Everton man posted a satisfactory return of 14 goals and seven assists in 37 games, but he did not start a single match during Inter's run to the Champions League final.

Nevertheless, Inter director Piero Ausilio has confirmed that his side are keen to bring Lukaku back to San Siro permanently, as the striker seemingly has no future in West London under Mauricio Pochettino.

Lukaku is still contracted to Chelsea for another three years, meaning that the Blues can afford to demand a respectable fee, but they will not be able to recoup anything close to the £97.5m they paid for his services in 2021.

According to the Evening Standard, Chelsea have slapped a £38m price tag on the head of the Belgium international, who has already been the subject of one failed £26m offer from the Nerazzurri.

Chelsea have no plans to let Lukaku leave on loan again, and the forward reportedly wants his future to be resolved before he is due to return for pre-season training next week.

While Inter are still considered the favourites to re-sign Lukaku, their long-running financial concerns could present an opportunity for rival teams to swoop in, and a separate report from Sky Sports News claims that Juventus have also touched base over a move.

The Old Lady could accelerate their efforts to sign Lukaku if Dusan Vlahovic seeks pastures new this summer, but it remains to be seen if their own well-documented concerns off the field could scupper a move.

Saudi Arabian giants Al-Hilal - who have already taken Kalidou Koulibaly off of Chelsea's hands this summer - could offer Lukaku an escape route from Europe, and the 30-year-old has supposedly given thought to a transfer to the Gulf state after previously ruling out such a move.

Either way, Lukaku is expected to become another victim of Pochettino's Chelsea exodus, which has already seen Koulibaly, Cesar Azpilicueta, N'Golo Kante, Edouard Mendy, Kai Havertz, Mateo Kovacic, Mason Mount, Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Tiemoue Bakayoko depart this summer.

A handful of other attackers also have one foot out of the exit door, as AC Milan are believed to have agreed a deal for USA international Christian Pulisic.

Callum Hudson-Odoi, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Hakim Ziyech will likely be moved on too, but the latter has already seen a move to Al-Nassr break down due to a failed medical.