Lukaku to Chelsea? Tuchel responds to transfer talks

A return to Stamford Bridge has been mooted for the Belgian hitman with the Blues in search of an out-and-out No.9.

Thomas Tuchel hails Romelu Lukaku as a “fantastic player” but refuses to be drawn on the speculation linking him to Chelsea.

Chelsea are preparing a big-money offer for Lukaku in the region of €120 million, according to Fabrizio Romano. The reputed journalist has also reported that the Blues have offered a €12 million-a-year salary to Lukaku, who is keen on rejoining the club.

The London side struggled to find the back of the net with consistency last season as €53 million signing Timo Werner failed to replicate his RB Leipzig form while Kai Havertz took time to adapt to his new false-nine role.

“I will not talk about players who don’t play in my squad. He’s a fantastic player but he’s an Inter player and I will not talk about him in this situation,” Tuchel told reporters when asked about Lukaku, per Goal.

“You can imagine a lot of players want to come and join but we will not talk about that.

“The board isn’t offering players, that’s not how it works. We talk to the board about players, have our own opinions, and in the end we target players who in our opinion could make our squad strong, which is quite a challenge.

“There are some players of which we think they can be a good target and improvement in our squad. I will not comment on names as I don’t like it when other coaches speak about my players.”