Real Madrid are set to compete with Chelsea in their pursuit of Inter Milan striker Lautaro Martinez this summer, but the Blues could have a secret weapon.
Having now appointed Mauricio Pochettino as their new manager, Chelsea are looking to bounce back from a disappointing season that saw them finish 12th in the Premier League despite forking out more than £500m on new signings including Enzo Fernandez, Mykhailo Mudryk and Raheem Sterling.
One of their biggest issues was a lack of goals, with only Bournemouth, Southampton, Everton and Wolves scoring less in the Premier League. Kai Havertz was their top scorer in the league with just seven strikes, while forward Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang started just four Premier League games.
Aubameyang was signed from Barcelona to lead the line by Thomas Tuchel, who worked with him at Borussia Dortmund, but played just one game under the German before he was sacked and replaced by Graham Potter.
As a result, Chelsea are desperate to strengthen their forward options this summer and the Times state that Martinez is high on their list of targets. Pochettino is said to be a big fan of the Inter star and views him as one of the best strikers in the world.
Real Madrid are also interested in signing Martinez following the departure of Karim Benzema, who has signed a hugely lucrative deal with Saudi Arabian club Al-Ittihad. However, Chelsea could have a secret weapon in their pursuit of the Argentine forward in the form of Romelu Lukaku.
Lukaku has spent that past season on loan at Inter Milan and he has a strong bond with Martinez both on and off the pitch. The pair are firm friends, with Lukaku recently attending Martinez's wedding, and they netted 28 and 14 goals respectively for Inter across all competitions.
The Belgian international will return to Chelsea for pre-season and is set to hold talks with Pochettino about his future. Should those go well, Lukaku and Martinez could reform their partnership at Stamford Bridge.
Inter chief Beppe Marotta has admitted it is unlikely the club will be able to sign Lukaku permanently this summer, telling Radio Rai : "Romelu loves the shirt he wears, he is very comfortable at Inter. These are fundamental aspects, this desire of his to be with us.
"But he is on loan until June 30. He will return to Chelsea, and we don't know what will happen on a technical level at that club. At the moment we are at the window."
