KEY POINTS

  • Chelsea were early favorites to sign Erling Haaland from Borussia Dortmund
  • The Blues target Inter's Romelu Lukaku
  • Lukaku previously stated his desire to stay in Italy

The transfer window is almost closed and many English Premier League clubs have already made their moves to secure their desired players, except for Chelsea.

Chelsea was thought to have been the frontrunners for an Erling Haaland transfer this summer, but the Norwegian himself decided to put the rumors of a transfer to rest by tweeting out that he’ll be sticking with his “day ones”.

So now, the club is left searching for a replacement for Haaland and has since earmarked Inter’s Romelu Lukaku as a transfer target.

Vayam Lahoti of Absolute Chelsea reports that the club has targeted Lukaku due to their frustrations in not being able to make a deal for the Borussia Dortmund striker.

Chelsea has reportedly set aside around €130 million ($154.3 million) in transfer fees for a top striker that they believe will help them knock off Manchester City’s hold on the top of the Premier League table.

Lukaku has had a productive season with Inter, but Chelsea’s desire to bring him back to Stamford Bridge indicates that the team is getting desperate in upgrading their attacking group.

Sky Sports journalist Kaveh Solhekol talked about how the Blues have been looking anywhere and everywhere for a top transfer target this late into the summer transfer window.

Goal reports that Chelsea is prepared to offer Marcos Alonso to Inter in part-exchange for Lukaku.

The belief at Stamford Bridge is that they can take advantage of Inter undergoing financial difficulties to convince them to sell Lukaku.

Lukaku had already dealt a massive blow to his former club early in the transfer window as he stated his intentions with staying in Italy.

“Yes, I am staying. I’ve already had contact with the man who normally becomes our new manager. Maybe I shouldn’t say that yet. It was a very positive conversation. There’s also the challenge of doing it again (winning the league). I feel good at Inter,” said Lukaku.

Chelsea will need to get creative this time around if they want to sign Lukaku or another big transfer target as teams are more than content with their teams as they all prepare for the start of their respective leagues.

RELATED STORIES