Chelsea reject offer for £100 million striker

On Friday Mauricio Pochettino held his first press conference since being appointed as the new manager of Chelsea.

The Argentine was questioned about a number of things, including several players that the Blues have been linked with – most notably Tottenham Hotspur striker Harry Kane.

Pochettino will undoubtedly be hoping to add to his squad ahead of the new season, with the Blues having let a number of players leave already this summer.

N’Golo Kante, Kai Havertz, Mateo Kovacic, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Kalidou Koulibaly, Cesar Azpilicueta and Edouard Mendy have all left Stamford Bridge so far this summer, with owner Todd Boehly looking to reduce the size of their squad.

Now, it appears that the Blues are considering offers for another of their stars.

According to The Guardian’s Jacob Steinberg, the London outfit are considering offers for striker Romelu Lukaku.

The Belgian first spent time with Chelsea as a youngster, but returned to Stamford Bridge in 2021 after helping Inter Milan to the Serie A title the previous season.

Lukaku’s future remains extremely uncertain

Lukaku cost a then-club record £97.5 million when he rejoined the Blues, but his first season back in England didn’t go to plan as he only scored eight league goals.

He was then sent back to Inter on loan last summer and enjoyed a successful end to last season, but Steinberg claims that the Italian side have had an offer for the player rejected.

The 30-year-old has also attracted interest from Saudi Arabian clubs, he claims, and the player is said to be considering a move to the Middle East.

Al-Hilal are named as the Saudi Arabian club that are interested in Lukaku, while fellow Italian side Juventus are also believed to be keen on the idea of a move.

In total, Lukaku has scored 78 goals in 132 games for Inter across all competitions, as well as providing 23 assists.

Despite scoring just 38 Premier League goals last season, it appears unlikely that Chelsea will choose to keep Lukaku in the first team squad for the upcoming campaign.