By Abba Gwale
Chelsea will submit an improved offer to sign their former striker Romelu Lukaku from Inter Milan after an £85m bid was rejected.
According to Sky Sports, Chelsea remain determined to sign Lukaku despite Inter having rejected a second offer for the Belgian, which would have also seen left-back Marcos Alonso move to the Serie A club.
The reigning European champions had already seen a first offer rebuffed by Inter and it is understood that neither proposal has so far made the Italian club change their mind about selling Lukaku.
Chelsea are determined to re-sign the 28-year-old Belgium international and an offer of between £94m (€110m) and £102m (€120m) could convince Inter chairman Steven Zhang to sell.
Lukaku played a key role in Inter’s Serie A win last season, scoring 24 goals in the process.
Inter need to reduce their wage bill this summer and title-winning boss Antonio Conte left the club in May amid concerns about plans to cut his budget.
However, Lukaku is very happy and settled at Inter and ready to give his all next season
After finishing in UEFA’s official team of Euro 2020, he went on holiday to the Caribbean and the USA, where he stuck rigidly to his personal training programme.
He is back training with Inter now and is fully focused on the new campaign.
Chelsea are determined to sign a world-class striker and their other main target this summer has been Borussia Dortmund’s Erling Haaland.
Lukaku previously spent three years at Chelsea after signing from Anderlecht as a teenager in 2011.
However, he made only 15 appearances for the club – failing to score a goal – before moving to Everton for £28m in July 2014.
He was close to a return in July 2017 but opted to join Manchester United for £75m. Inter signed him from United for £73m two years ago.
