Chelsea have told Romelu Lukaku not to arrive for pre-season training while negotiations with Inter are ongoing, but according to reports in Italy, the Nerazzurri have five days to finalise the deal.
The Belgium international is pushing to return to the Stadio Meazza and won’t resume training with Chelsea today, Wednesday, July 12.
All Italian sports papers confirm Lukaku won’t show up at Cobham until Monday when the Blues will leave for the pre-season tour in the USA. Il Corriere dello Sport and Tuttosport add that Chelsea have given five days to Inter to finalise the deal.
According to CorSport, the same applies to other clubs interested, including Juventus, who will be looking for a new striker if Dusan Vlahovic leaves.
This means Lukaku could join Chelsea for the pre-season tour in the USA next week or remain in Cobham to train.
The Belgian striker returned to Inter on loan last summer and scored 14 goals in 37 appearances across all competitions.
According to Gazzetta (page 4), Chelsea have lowered their asking price to €40m, but Inter don’t want to spend more than €30m plus add-ons.