Chelsea warned against Lukaku as Inter name huge asking price

As Chelsea continue their search for a world-class striker, Steve Nicol has told the Blues why re-signing Romelu Lukaku is a bad idea.

Romelu Lukaku isn’t the striker that Chelsea need as he is ‘not a natural finisher’, says former Liverpool defender-turned pundit Steve Nicol.

Off the back of their European success last season, Chelsea head into the new campaign hopeful of a Premier League title challenge. To dethrone Manchester City, however, more firepower is needed. Therefore, Thomas Tuchel has made signing a new goal-scoring striker a top priority this summer.

The Blues boss has three options – Erling Haaland, Romelu Lukaku, and Sasa Kalajdzic – on his shortlist.

Haaland is the club’s favored option, with Football Insider claiming that Roman Abramovich has given Chelsea the green light to make a £130 million cash-only offer to Borussia Dortmund. Should that fall through, Lukaku could become Tuchel’s Plan B option.

“Chelsea are in a position now where if they sign a center-forward, he has to be a natural finisher. That’s the one thing they’re missing,” Nicol told ESPN.

“As many goals as Lukaku has, he’s not a natural finisher. He has been at Chelsea twice before.”

Lukaku previously had a three-year spell as a Chelsea player between 2011 and 2014. He just 15 appearances and spent most of his time away on loan at West Brom and Everton.

Only €120m could tempt Inter Milan into a deal

Achraf Hakimi’s €71 million sale to Paris Saint-Germain earlier this month has left Inter Milan in a stronger financial position.

The Serie A champions, therefore, are under less pressure to sell their top players now. And keeping Lukaku, who has scored 64 goals in only 95 games for the club, would be welcome. The Belgian played a key role behind the Nerazzurri’s league title last season and would be invaluable for their title defense in 2021/22.

According to Tuttosport, Chelsea would need to fork out at least €120 million to tempt Inter into a sale. Lukaku, though, announced plans to continue in Italy earlier in the summer.

Reports have also recently linked Bayern Munich striker Robert Lewandowski with a move to Stamford Bridge.