Roman Abramovich ‘personally’ leading Chelsea charge to sign Serie A star

He has been the financial colossus behind most of Chelsea’s success, but owner Roman Abramovich could be seen dishing out high fives rather than cash in Porto. 

The Russian multi-billionaire purchased Chelsea with one goal in mind – to conquer European football.

Visa issues means he has not been present at Stamford Bridge, but he was in the lounge position to watch his beloved Chelsea conquer Europe for the second time.

While the Russian looked like the cuddly old grandpa with his grey goatee and beard in Porto, in fact the Russian is a pragmatic and ruthless owner who has seen 12 managers come and go from Stamford Bridge – Tuchel is the 13th.

But his ruthless hiring and firing policy has once again brought Chelsea success with Tuchel taking over the reins and steering the Blues to Champions League glory – just like Roberto Di Matteo did when he replaced Andre Villas-Boas in 2012.

According to reports from Eurosport, Abramovich’s hunger for footballing dominance is still not quenched as he is allegedly personally driving a move to bring Inter Milan striker Romelu Lukaku back to Stamford Bridge.

Lukaku could be Chelsea’s solution to their lack of goals

The striker sealed a dream move to West London from Anderlecht in the 2011/12 season.

Unfortunately, it did not work for the Belgian who spent two seasons on loan with West Bromwich Albion and Everton, before signing permanently for the latter for £28 million.

He later moved to Manchester United in 2017, scoring 42 goals in 96 appearances for the Red Devils, before ex-Chelsea boss Antonio Conte brought the powerful centre forward to Inter Milan for £74.6 million.

Lukaku has been a resounding success for the Nerazzurri, spearheading an attack which broke Juventus’ dominance in the Italian league, winning Inter’s first Serie A title in over a decade.

However, the Italians have suffered severe financial issues on the back of the Coronavirus crisis and recently lost Conte after he was allegedly told the club needs to raise around £80 million in sales.

Lukaku is valued at around £100 million and, if the Italians were to get this sale, then the bulk of their financial issues would be solved.

Chelsea are reportedly the club most keen on Lukaku and it is also believed the 28-year-old feels he has unfinished business at Stamford Bridge.