Chelsea have been presented with two potential opportunities to solve their Romelu Lukaku problem as the Belgian striker looks destined for a quick exit from Stamford Bridge. After winning the Champions League in 2021, Chelsea signed Lukaku that summer after he played a key role in Inter Milan's Scudetto triumph under former Blues head coach and now Tottenham boss Antonio Conte.
Despite reigning as kings of Europe, Chelsea were missing a natural striker and the arrival of Lukaku in a near-£100million transfer seemed to solve that problem after he netted 30 goals from 44 appearances in the 2020/21 campaign.
An impressive start back in Chelsea blue very quickly became a nightmare, however, after Lukaku found himself on the bench for a number of games. The 29-year-old caused anger among the Chelsea fans after an interview with Sky Italia was released in November 2021.
READ MORE: Christopher Nkunku signing helps Graham Potter fix 14-year Chelsea striker problem
"Physically, I am fine, I cannot say that I am happy with the situation, this is normal. I think that Tuchel has chosen to play with another module, and I just have to not give up, continue to work and be a professional," he said in it.
"How I left Inter, how I communicated with the fans, this bothers me because it is not the right time now, but even when I left, it was not the right time. Now I think it is right to speak because I have always said that I have Inter in my heart, I will return to play there, I really hope so."
Discussing his previous employers with glee just months after signing for the Blues did not go down well and Lukaku went on to play a bit-part role for the remainder of the season. The decision was then made to send him back to Italy on a season-long loan at Inter.
Despite his previous success and claims of adulation towards the club, he has struggled with injuries and form, playing just 382 minutes across nine games.
The Lukaku plan can certainly be labelled as a disaster now and Chelsea will be hoping for an exit of minimal fuss in the summer and they may have been presented with one courtesy of his former manager Antonio Conte.
According to Calcio Mercato, there is interest in Lukaku from Newcastle and Spurs. Specifically the latter's rests solely on the future of Conte, who undoubtedly got the best out of the striker during their time together at Inter.
As stated in their report, another option for Chelsea could be to try and agree a swap deal of some kind with Juventus for Dusan Vlahovic. The financial situation and points deduction of Juve could spell the end of their reign challenging towards the top of Italian football and the Blues could therefore take advantage of that with a favourable deal.
A straight swap would likely be laughed off by Juve. However, offering Lukaku and a fee between €50-55million (£43.9-48.3million) could be enough to at least begin negotiations.
READ NEXT:
Chelsea announce seventh January transfer with Malo Gusto deal confirmed
Arsenal and Chelsea handed Moises Caicedo transfer twist after 'dream' Man United admission
Chelsea's squad after January transfer deadline following Todd Boehly's spending spree
Find the footballs on the football.london website to win cash prize, vouchers and TV worth £3,000
Chelsea news and transfers LIVE: All the latest news, rumours and gossip from Stamford Bridge
