Romelu Lukaku is set to rejoin Inter Milan following a disastrous season back at Chelsea, whose summer transfer window could now finally spark into life.
Sportsmail understands Inter are close to reaching an agreement with the Blues over a loan move for Lukaku, who only returned to Stamford Bridge for £97.5million last summer, after increasing their offer from £6.5million to £8.5million with add-ons.
Thomas Tuchel and Co have decided offloading the Belgian striker is in the best interest of all parties, and once completed they will turn their attention to finding a replacement.
Romelu Lukaku is on the verge of leaving Chelsea and re-signing for Inter Milan on loan
Thomas Tuchel can finally begin his Blues revamp once the Belgian striker heads back to Inter
Though it’s not only upfront where Tuchel needs to strengthen, meaning Chelsea are also being linked with reinforcements in other areas of the pitch. And they could yet see others follow Lukaku out of the door…
Nevertheless, his departure will likely get the west London club’s summer revamp up and running – so which players could be heading in and out of SW6 over the next few months?
Here, Sportsmail takes a look…
In
Raheem Sterling
The Manchester City winger has emerged as Chelsea’s biggest transfer target this summer, with Tuchel a huge admirer and therefore keen to add him to his squad.
While he started 23 times in City’s title-winning campaign, Sterling was demoted to the bench by Pep Guardiola for a number of key fixtures last season – including their Champions League semi-final ties against Real Madrid – and is therefore weighing up his future at the Etihad.
Chelsea believe he would be valued at around £55million by the Premier League champions, who only have the 27-year-old under contract for another year.
Tuchel needs to strengthen in attack more than anywhere else given the likes of Christian Pulisic, Timo Werner and Hakim Ziyech have proved too inconsistent in recent seasons, and in Sterling he would be recruiting an experienced Premier League goalscorer who has reached double figures for five seasons running at City.
The latter are yet to be contacted by Chelsea, but they would not stand in Sterling’s way if he sets his sights on a move to Stamford Bridge.
Likelihood of arrival: 4/5
Raheem Sterling has emerged as one of Chelsea’s biggest transfer targets this summer
Robert Lewandowski
If Tuchel wants to bring in a direct replacement for Lukaku, there are not many…