What’s the story?
Antonio Conte has set sights on bringing Romelu Lukaku back to Stamford Bridge in the summer. The Chelsea manager is keen on signing a striker this summer and has asked to club to bring back their former player.
Lukaku has been in fine form for Everton this season. He has scored 16 goals in 23 appearances for the Toffees in the Premier League this season and also assisted four times.
In case you didn’t know...
Lukaku had a disappointing spell at Chelsea when he first joined them from Anderlecht. He was loaned out to West Bromwich Albion and Everton before he was eventually sold to the Toffees for £28 million by Jose Mourinho.
Since then, the Belgian striker has become a lethal finisher. He is now showing all the qualities a big club wants in their striker to win trophies every season.
The Belgian striker has always insisted that he has 'unfinished business' at Chelsea and that he was always open to return to the club. Now that he has the guarantee that he will be their #1 striker, he might opt to join them and play in the Champions League.
Bringing a former player back to Stamford Bridge is nothing new for Chelsea. They sold Matic to Benfica in a deal to bring David Luiz to the club and then bought him back for £21 million. They sold David Luiz to PSG for £50 million and then signed him back before this season began for reported fee of £34 million.
The heart of the matter
Lukaku is a quality striker who is being chased by several Champions League clubs. PSG, Manchester United, Inter Milan and Juventus are said to be interested in signing him apart from Chelsea.
Chelsea striker Diego Costa has reportedly agreed to join Chinese Super League side, Tijan Quanjian in the summer. The Chinese side submitted a bid for the Spanish striker in January, but the bid was rejected by The Blues' straight away.
Costa wanted to rejoin Atletico Madrid last summer, but as Chelsea could not sign an ideal replacement for him, they did not allow him to leave. Conte is also chasing Alvaro Morata - who is said to have informed his friends of his desire to join the Premier League leaders in the summer.
What’s next?
Chelsea are bound to let go of Costa in the summer as they look to add fresh and young talent to the squad. The Blues' have reportedly demanded a world record fee for the striker from Tijan Quanjian, and the Chinese side are ready to pay whatever they want.
Adding Lukaku and Morata to the squad would be the ideal thing for Conte to do and with both the players ready to join them, it will be very easy for the Blues' to sign them up.
Sportskeeda’s Take
Honestly, it would not be a surprise to see Lukaku at Chelsea. His love for the club is not unknown, and he is kept hinting at a possible return to the club. Chelsea have the money to spend and Everton would be more than happy to sell him if they get a huge amount for him.
