Serie A: Inter Milan pull out of race to sign Lukaku

Inter Milan have reportedly informed Chelsea that they no longer wish to pursue the signing of striker Romelu Lukaku.

The Belgian forward arrived back at Chelsea for his second stint for a whopping £97.5 million back in 2021 from Inter. But after just one difficult season back at the Blues he was shipped off back to the Serie A club on loan last season.

Lukaku scored 14 goals in 37 appearances during his loan spell with Inter last season and helped them to reach the Champions League final.

Inter were desperate to keep the 30-year-old forward but they have so far been refusing to meet Chelsea’s asking price, despite it being vastly reduced from what they paid for him two years ago.

They launched a second bid of £27.5m this week with the Blues demanding £34m, but have now allegedly pulled out of a potential deal.

It was gathered that Inter Milan is furious after discovering advisers working on behalf of Lukaku had held secret talks with Juventus. While such conversations are legal and standard at this stage of negotiations, Inter have been left disappointed by the situation as they believed Lukaku’s only interest was returning to the Nerazzurri, a message insiders insist came from the player himself.

Juventus are now leading the race for the striker’s signature while Lukaku is desperate to leave Chelsea this summer.

Juve however need to sell Dusan Vlahovic to finance a move for Lukaku, meaning the Belgian may now be forced to return for pre-season with Chelsea.

Lukaku has already turned down a move to Saudi Arabia and Chelsea gave him an extended summer break to seal a future away from Stamford Bridge.