Chelsea have Lukaku plan drawn up if striker’s Juventus transfer collapses

Chelsea are seemingly growing more and more desperate in their quest to offload unwanted striker Romelu Lukaku. As the days tick by in the transfer window, the Belgium international appears no closer to securing a move through the Stamford Bridge exit door, and now contingency plans are being drawn up.

Chelsea fought off intense competition from European rivals in the summer of 2021 to secure the signing of Lukaku, parting with a then British record £97m to bring back the player who they brought through their own youth system.

If coughing up such eye-watering figures for a striker they once owned wasn’t humiliating enough, the Blues then failed to integrate Lukaku adequately enough under previous manager Thomas Tuchel and thus failed to get the star man firing.

Since, Lukaku has spent time back on loan at his former club Inter Milan and grown steadily more disillusioned with Chelsea and the prospect of ever returning.

After bringing on board Mauricio Pochettino as new first team boss this summer, Chelsea have tried to force through the sale of Lukaku and the player has reportedly not even met the manager ahead of the coming campaign. 

With Chelsea’s free-spending summer, including a £111m move for Moises Caicedo and a £58m move for teenage star Romeo Lavia, sales are badly needed in order to balance the books and comply with Financial Fair Play ruling.

Yet the Lukaku situation remains a delicate one, and a protracted move to Juventus appears to be on the brink of falling through.

Now, according to transfer insider Ben Jacobs, Chelsea will ‘encourage Lukaku to sign for a Saudi Arabian club’ should Juventus fail to secure his services.

The Blues will be confident that a Saudi side could adequately reach their reported £45m asking price for the striker, which would represent a sizeable loss on their initial purchase.

It is reported that Lukaku has not engaged with Pochettino and discussed any form of plans for the season, with both parties seemingly confident that an exit will occur one way or another.

Speaking recently on the subject of Lukaku, Pochettino did not shy away from the fact that something has to give very soon.

The Argentine boss told reporters: “It’s two sides. You cannot put it only on the club. The situation is where it is because of two sides.

“It’s like when you have a player in or a player out, it’s because both sides arrive to an agreement.”

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According to GOAL, Lukaku has already rejected a whopping £45m-per-year offer from Al-Hilal, who recently secured the signing of Brazilian superstar Neymar from Paris Saint-Germain.

Lukaku is reported to only want to return to Inter Milan on a permanent deal, though is said to be open to a switch to Juventus if that remains the only offer on the table to continue playing football in the Italian top flight.

Lukaku spent last season on loan at Inter and wants to remain at the San Siro for the 2023-24 season but Inter have yet to table a formal transfer bid.

Should no transfer materialise and Lukaku remain at Stamford Bridge, Pochettino is set to be left with a burning conundrum of whether to play the Belgian or leave such a costly asset sitting in the stands and therefore dropping in transfer value as a result.

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