Wrapping up the Chelsea transfer news, rumours and gossip in the 2021 summer window. ‘Chelsea hope Inter hold nerve over Lukaku’
Sky Sports News’ Kaveh Solhekol on The Transfer Show (Aug 5):
© Associated Press
Romelu Lukaku fired Inter Milan to the Serie A title this season
“Romelu Lukaku has made it clear to Inter that he would like to move to Chelsea if Chelsea make an acceptable offer for him.
“Chelsea are in talks with Inter, they will increase the second offer they’ve made worth £85m plus Marcos Alonso.
“Inter have told them they would prefer a cash deal and it has to be between 110 and 120m Euros.
“Chelsea are minded to increase their offer because they want to sign Lukaku in the next few days.
“But this is where it becomes interesting as some people at Inter think this type of deal would be impossible to turn down as they have financial problems and a deal of this size would go a long way to solving them.
“There are others at the club who feel strongly Lukaku should not be sold, so there is a lot of internal politics going on at Inter. And the final decision makers will be the
“Chinese owners and chairman Steven Zhang – is he going to sanction the sale of Lukaku, a player who Inter’s fans call the King of Milan and whose goals helped them win the title for the first time in 11 years?
“The fans and Ultras will not be happy if Lukaku is sold on the back of Antonio Conte leaving due to not being supported in the financial market.
“Chelsea, though, will be hoping he holds his nerve and decides they have to take 120m euros for a 28-year-old.”
Who have Chelsea been linked with?
Romelu Lukaku – Chelsea are close to agreeing a £97.5m (€115m) deal to re-sign striker Romelu Lukaku from Inter Milan (Sky Sports News, August 7); Lukaku’s potential £100m switch back to Chelsea has reportedly infuriated Inter Milan boss Simone Inzaghi (The Sun, August 6); The striker has told Inter Milan he would like them to accept a suitable offer for him from Chelsea (Sky Sports News, August 4).
Lukaku is keen on a move back to Chelsea because he has unfinished business at Stamford Bridge (The Sun, August 4); Inter Milan want around £100m for the Chelsea target and may be forced to cash in on him before the end of the transfer window (Daily Telegraph, August 4); Chelsea boss Roman Abramovich ‘firmly believes’ he can convince Lukaku to re-join Chelsea this summer (Daily Star, August 4); Chelsea could transfer list up to 11 players, including Kurt Zouma, Ross Barkley and Danny Drinkwater, in order to fund a move for Lukaku (Daily Star, August 4); Chelsea have had an offer for Lukaku worth £85m rejected by Inter Milan.
Chelsea’s proposal would have also seen left-back Marcos Alonso move to Inter (Sky Sports News, August 3); Chelsea will have to fork out £102.5m to land Lukaku from Inter Milan this summer (Sun on Sunday, July 25); Chelsea are reportedly still in secret talks behind the scenes over the signing of former player Lukaku (Daily Express, July 22); The Champions League winners are keen to bring Belgium forward Lukaku back to Stamford Bridge, with the 28-year-old likely to leave Serie A champions Inter Milan. (Sky Sports, June 1).
Jules Kounde – Chelsea’s pursuit of Kounde has stalled after their attempts to make space in their squad for a new defender were frustrated by Kurt Zouma’s refusal to join West Ham (The Guardian, August 5); Chelsea have reportedly offered Brazilian winger Kenedy to Sevilla as they look to seal a deal for centre-back Kounde in a player-plus-cash move (Daily Mail, August 4); Chelsea have been exploring using Kurt Zouma as part of a deal to sign Sevilla’s Jules Kounde and while not impossible, Zouma’s preference is to remain in London. Chelsea are likely to proceed with a deal for Kounde regardless of whether Zouma is included or not though (Sky Sports, Aug 1).
Chelsea’s swoop for Kounde has hit complications as it emerged Zouma is reluctant to join Sevilla as part of the £50m deal (Daily Mail, July 31); Sevilla have informed Chelsea that they want a straight cash deal for Kounde, rather than any players in exchange (Daily Mirror, July 30); Kounde is said to be “buzzing” about the chance to sign for Chelsea as transfer talks with his current club Sevilla continue (Daily Star, July 30); Chelsea have been dealt a setback in their pursuit of Kounde, with other Premier League clubs rumoured to be circling around the defender (Daily Express, July 29); Chelsea are in talks with Sevilla over signing the France international (Sky Sports, July 28); Kurt Zouma could be part of any deal with Sevilla for the defender (Daily Mail, July 28).
Erling Haaland – Roman Abramovich has given the green light to a £130m bid for the Borussia Dortmund star (Football Insider, July 23); Chelsea will have to make Haaland the highest-paid player at the club if he were to join from Dortmund (Daily Mail, July 18); Dortmund have turned down Chelsea’s informal player-plus-cash proposal for the striker (Sky in Germany, July 15); Chelsea want to offer Tammy Abraham to Dortmund as part of their monster bid to land Haaland (The Mirror, July 15); Chelsea have been warned they are facing “mission impossible” over Haaland, with Dortmund already letting Jadon Sancho join Manchester United this month in a £73m deal (Sky Sports, July 13); Dortmund are holding out on £150m, claims former Norway international Jan Aage Fjortoft (The Sun, July 13).
How Erling Haaland would transform Chelsea
Antoine Griezmann – Barcelona are yet to receive any official bids for Griezmann amid interest from a number of clubs, including Manchester City and Chelsea (Daily Mail, July 27); Chelsea are making plans to bring the France international in on loan from Barcelona this summer (Daily Express, July 13)
Eden Hazard – Chelsea are contemplating the idea of bringing Hazard back to the club from Real Madrid this summer (Daily Mail, July 22)
Ilaix Moriba – Chelsea and Manchester City are monitoring an apparent contract stand-off between Barcelona and the young midfield star (The Sun, July 23)
Presnel Kimpemba – The reported Chelsea target is considering his future at Paris Saint-Germain after the high-profile arrival of Sergio Ramos (Daily Express, July 23)
Domenico Berardi – Chelsea have made an enquiry about Sassuolo’s Berardi after failing to get anywhere in their efforts to bring in Italy team-mate Federico Chiesa (Daily Star, July 22).
Declan Rice – European champions Chelsea are planning to include striker Tammy Abraham as part of a deal to sign West Ham United midfielder Rice this summer (Daily Star, July 21); Rice has turned down two contract offers from West Ham and wants to be informed of any bids amid interest from Chelsea (The Guardian, July 1)
Sasa Kalajdzic – Stuttgart striker Kalajdzic has emerged as a possible target for Chelsea should they miss out on other options this summer (Daily Mail, July 20)
Kingsley Coman – Chelsea have offered England winger Callum Hudson-Odoi to Bayern Munich in a swap deal for the French winger Kingsley Coman (L’Equipe, July 19).
Robert Lewandowski – Chelsea will make an ambitious £50m bid to sign the Pole from Bayern Munich after failing in their attempts to land Erling Haaland from Borussia Dortmund (The Sun, July 18).
Saul Niguez – Chelsea have been tipped to sign the Atletico Madrid midfielder this summer amid doubts over his future at the Wanda Metropolitano (Daily Star, July 18).
Federico Chiesa – Juventus have rejected an £85m bid from Chelsea for Chiesa, according to reports (Daily Star, July 16).
Premier League ins and outsPaper TalkThe latest players linked with a Chelsea exit
Tammy Abraham – Atalanta have entered the race to sign the Chelsea outcast with the England striker also attracting interest from Arsenal and West Ham, but Aston Villa are now less likely to strike a deal after signing Danny Ings (Daily Mail, August 5); Aston Villa boss Dean Smith wants a reunion with former loan star Abraham after Jack Grealish completes his £100m transfer to Manchester City (Daily Star, August 5); Aston Villa are interested in a loan move for Chelsea striker Abraham (Sky Sports, August 3); Chelsea have lowered their asking price for striker Tammy Abraham to around £35m to try and drum up interest from Arsenal, West Ham and Aston Villa (The Sun, July 30); Chelsea will consider any offers for the 23-year-old forward (Sky Sports, July 28); the Blues are planning to include striker Abraham as part of a deal to sign West Ham United midfielder Declan Rice this summer (Daily Star, July 21); Chelsea are prepared to let Abraham join Arsenal on loan to speed through a deal (The Sun, July 21).
Various – Chelsea could transfer list up to 11 players, including Kurt Zouma, Ross Barkley and Danny Drinkwater, in order to fund a move for Inter Milan’s Romelu Lukaku (Daily Star, August 4); Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel is trying to offload fringe players including Barkley and Drinkwater as they have little chance of making his Premier League squad (The Sun, August 6).
Marcos Alonso – Chelsea have had an offer for Romelu Lukaku worth £85m rejected by Inter Milan. Chelsea’s proposal would have also seen left-back Alonso move to Inter (Sky Sports News, August 3)
Ruben Loftus-Cheek – Tuchel says the midfielder can ‘decide his own future’ and earn a place in Chelsea’s first-team squad next season (Sky Sports, August 1).
Kurt Zouma – Chelsea’s pursuit of Sevilla’s Jules Koundé has stalled after their attempts to make space in their squad for a new defender were frustrated by Kurt Zouma’s refusal to join West Ham (The Guardian, August 5); West Ham remain in talks with Chelsea over the defender but a deal currently appears very difficult to complete, with Chelsea thought to want in the region of £25m – and Zouma’s wages (Sky Sports, August 1); West Ham are in talks over the signing of defender Zouma (Sky Sports News, July 29); The centre-back could be part of a deal with Sevilla for defender Jules Kounde (Daily Mail, July 28).
Timo Werner – Chelsea are reportedly ‘open’ to selling Timo Werner (Daily Star, July 26); Bayern Munich are set to launch a surprise bid for Chelsea forward Timo Werner, according to reports (The Sun on Sunday, July 25).
Ross Barkley – Newcastle are reportedly interested in signing Barkley – even if they secure Arsenal’s Joe Willock (The Sun, July 26).
Conor Gallagher – Crystal Palace are in talks to sign Gallagher on a season-long-loan deal (Sky Sports News, July 29); Leeds United and Crystal Palace hope to find out next week whether Chelsea are willing to let Gallagher go on loan (Daily Mail, July 26); Newcastle are also reportedly interested in signing Gallagher (The Sun, July 26).
Hakim Ziyech – AC Milan are reportedly pushing to sign Chelsea’s Ziyech on loan, with the Morocco international wanting to know if he figures in Thomas Tuchel’s plans moving forward (Daily Mail, July 24).
Henry Lawrence – Chelsea are ready to send the young defender to Wigan in the footsteps of Reece James (The Sun, July 18)
Jorginho – The midfielder’s agent has confirmed that Juventus have enquired about the Chelsea ace’s availability (The Sun, July 13)
Chelsea have reportedly offered Brazilian winger Kenedy to Sevilla as they look to seal a deal for centre back Jules Kounde in a player-plus-cash move (Daily Mail).
Confirmed Chelsea signings
Marcus Bettinelli – Fulham, free
Confirmed Chelsea departures
Fikayo Tomori – AC Milan, £25m
Willy Caballero – contract expired
Izzy Brown – contract expired
Jamal Blackman – contract expired
Pierre Ekwah Elimby – West Ham, undisclosed
Danilo Pantic – Partizan Belgrade, undisclosed
Nathan Baxter – Hull, loan
Billy Gilmour – Norwich City, loan
Victor Moses – Spartak Moscow, undisclosed
Juan Castillo – Birmingham, loan
Olivier Giroud – AC Milan, undisclosed
Marc Guehi – Crystal Palace, undisclosed
Lewis Bate – Leeds, undisclosed
Henry Lawrence – AFC Wimbledon, loan
Tino Livramento – Southampton, undisclosed
Jamie Cumming – Gillingham, loan
Jack Wakely – Wycombe, free
Ian Maatsen – Coventry, loan
Antoine Griezmann has been linked with a loan move
Italy’s Federico Chiesa celebrates after scoring against Spain at the Euros
Chelsea want to sign Bayern’s Robert Lewandowski
Striker Sasa Kalajdzic (left) could be a back-up option for Chelsea
Could Eden Hazard be on his way back to Chelsea?
Erling Haaland remains at the forefront of summer speculation
Hakim Ziyech celebrates after scoring Chelsea’s winner
Chelsea want to sign Sevilla’s Jules Kounde
Ross Barkley has had an injury-hit time on loan at Aston Villa
10/10 SLIDES
