Chelsea are set to sell Romelu Lukaku and hope a strong World Cup will increase his transfer value ahead of the final exit from Stamford Bridge next summer.
Lukaku is on loan at Inter Milan and is unlikely to have a future at Chelsea under new manager Graham Potter. Chelsea are set to suffer a huge loss from the £ 97.5m they paid for Lukaku in 2021, but are eager to dump the Belgian forward and are looking for buyers.
Lukaku is struggling with a hamstring problem and Inter confirmed yesterday that they have suffered another injury, less than three weeks before the start of the World Cup. Belgium are sweating over their fitness but Lukaku plans to be fit for Qatar and Chelsea are hoping that a good performance at the tournament will increase their market value.
The 29-year-old joined Inter on a loan worth just £ 6.7m last summer and Chelsea have verbally agreed that the Serie A side could lend again on the same terms next season. But their ultimate goal is to find new suitors as they try to raise as much money as possible.
Fitness fight: Romelu Lukaku, on loan from Chelsea, has only played three times for Inter so far
/ Getty ImagesLukaku does not want to return to Chelsea despite replacing Thomas Tuchel with Potter, with whom he had a fight last season. Potter has yet to give the club a firm opinion on Lukaku’s future, but a return to Stamford Bridge seems unlikely.
Lukaku has only started three times with Inter Milan this season and added to his hamstring problem after scoring on his return from the bench in the Champions League last week.
Speaking ahead of the match against Bayern Munich, Inter coach Simone Inzaghi said: “It’s a dip that we didn’t want, it gave us a lot in that period. We hope to be able to use it again before the break.
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