Romelu Lukaku has landed back in London and will report to Chelsea’s training ground on Tuesday afternoon as the striker’s pre-season preparations begin amid ongoing uncertainty over his future.
With the first-team squad now on their summer tour in the U.S., Lukaku is scheduled to be put through his paces by club coaches — alongside Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Hakim Ziyech.
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The trio are not part of the plans at Chelsea and in Lukaku’s case the west London side are continuing to work with the 30-year-old’s representatives Roc Nation and lawyer Sebastien Ledure on finding the best solution for the next step of his career.
Juventus remain the preferred destination for Lukaku — although that depends on them shifting Dusan Vlahovic, which is yet to happen — while there is also interest from Saudi Arabia and it is unclear if a return to Inter Milan can be revived.
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Lukaku has been absent from training under Chelsea’s new boss Mauricio Pochettino, with all parties trying to find the Belgium international a departure only two years after he moved to Stamford Bridge in a £97.5million transfer.
Chelsea recently rejected Inter Milan’s latest proposal, seeking a fee in the region of €45m.
The forward spent the 2022-23 campaign on loan at Inter following a disappointing second spell at Chelsea, where he scored 15 goals in 44 matches across all competitions.
Lukaku then hit the net 14 times in 37 games for Inter, who reached the Champions League final and finished third in Serie A.
GO DEEPER
Chelsea U.S. pre-season tour squad: Fofana, James, Badiashile and Lukaku miss out
(Photo: MARCO BERTORELLO/AFP via Getty Images)
