Chelsea seems to have regained lost ground in their prolonged attempts to land the signature of former Blues striker Romelu Lukaku this summer with Inter Milan president Steve Zhang refusing to rule out the sale of his key players.
Inter recently parted ways with their manager Antonio Conte despite the Italian leading them to the Serie A title this past season after a ten-year gap for domestic glory at the San Siro.
Conte’s departure had led to talk of Lukaku, one of Inter Milan’s most influential performers on the pitch, also demanding an exit with Chelsea and Manchester United in the running to make a move for the Belgian forward.
Despite the player later suggesting he was keen to stay put amid attention in his services from England’s top clubs, Inter chief Steve Zhang has sparked off fresh speculation with Zhang claiming that with the pandemic playing spoilsport to the club’s finances it has become paramount for them to cut costs, according to reports from the Mirror.
Many believe Zhang’s remarks to be an indication of him giving the nod to Inter Milan offloading some of their big-name players in the summer window to raise funds for the club’s operation.
“Last summer the pandemic had greatly affected our revenues but we continued with him [Conte], focusing on the season convinced that we could win.”
“The decision was right [for Conte to leave], but now the bill brought by the pandemic is such that we cannot fail to review the situation by looking for savings that lead to a future budget balance.
“We must reduce costs and control risks. This obviously also influences the transfer market strategy. Our different views on the situation led to the separation.”
