Barcelona Are Chasing Ex-Man Utd $96M Star Who Is Also City, PSG’s Target: Report

FC Barcelona are reportedly interested in signing Romelu Lukaku from Inter Milan during the 2021 summer transfer window.

Barcelona head coach Ronald Koeman has the backing of the club ahead of the next season and wants to include Lukaku to bolster his attack further, Italian media outlet Calciomercato reported.

Lukaku has become an integral part of the San Siro side. In 26 league appearances this season, Lukaku has netted 19 goals and has fired Inter Milan to the top of the Serie A table, six points clear of the second-placed AC Milan. Overall, Lukaku has scored 25 goals in as many as 34 competitive matches.

While Inter Milan would not want to let their key scorer leave, by selling Lukaku, the club will be able to make space in their wage structure, considering the Belgian playmaker is the club’s highest-paid player.

It has also been reported that Lukaku is being chased by other top clubs such as Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain (PSG). The clubs are waiting for the "right moment" to approach the Serie A club with a bid for Lukaku, who was signed at a club record of $96 million from Manchester United in the summer of 2019.

Meanwhile, it is understood that Barcelona manager Koeman has shortlisted a few players for various departments and is hopeful that Barcelona will be able to secure these players this summer. Koeman wants Memphis Depay and Lukaku for the attack, Liverpool’s Gini Wijnaldum for the midfield and Manchester City’s Eric Garcia for the defense.

The 20-year-old Garcia’s current deal with Manchester City is set to expire at the end of the 2020-21 campaign. It is believed that Garcia, who started his soccer career at Barcelona’s academy La Masia, has rejected a new deal from the Etihad side as he wants to return to his hometown club Barcelona. Wijnaldum, on the other hand, will also be out of contract this summer and Barcelona can sign him on a free transfer.

However, it has been reported that Wijnaldum’s move to Camp Nou will only happen if Barcelona manage to offload Miralem Pjanic. By selling the Bosnian midfielder, the Catalans will make space in their wage structure. They had signed Pjanic for a hefty fee of $71 million last summer from Juventus as a part of a deal for Arthur. It is believed that Pjanic is attracting attention from France and Italy and Koeman is confident that Barcelona will be able to get rid of the player this summer.