Chelsea have “opened up” over the potential sale of Romelu Lukaku this summer, but the Blues have asked for one of two players in exchange, claims a report.
The Chelsea hierarchy had not entertained a move for Lukaku after a nightmare return to the Premier League, until now.
La Repubblica state Chelsea are keen to avoid making a huge loss on the striker, who was a £97.5m signing from Inter Milan last summer.
Inter have been eyeing a cut-price return for the Belgium star after his December outburst saw his time turn sour under Thomas Tuchel.
Now though Chelsea have “opened up” as per Sport Witness, over a return to Italy for the player after Thomas Tuchel’s green light.
Chelsea are happy to take a down payment on a loan deal, leading to a future payment to make it permanent.
Those figures are currently set at €20m and €70m for the redemption. However, Chelsea are open to certain players in exchange.
The are said to be very keen on Denzel Dumfries, but the Dutch star is untouchable.
The other two players that interest Tuchel the most are defenders Alessandro Bastoni and Stefan de Vrij.
Sport Witness report that Chelsea will ‘demand’ that Bastoni will be a part of the negotiations.
Bastoni ‘happy’ at Inter
Bastoni, 23, is a target for Spurs. Sky Sports reported Tottenham had opened talks with Inter Milan over a transfer this summer.
However, Bastoni’s agent, Tullio Tinti, has since met with Inter chiefs to discuss his client’s future. After leaving the meeting, Tinti said: “Bastoni will certainly remain at Inter.
“He has a contract with Inter, he is happy to play at Inter and there’s no problem.”
That may well mean that Chelsea’s pursuit of the talented defender will end in disappointment.
Tuchel is desperate for defenders and admitted recently he is facing a “rebuilding” job at Stamford Bridge.
Andreas Christensen, Antonio Rudiger, Cesar Azpilicueta and Marcos Alonso could all leave this summer. That will leave Tuchel with a huge defensive hole to fill.
De Vrij would be a good acquisition. He is another player being chased by Fabio Paratici at Tottenham.
The 30-year-old is out of contract next summer after four years at the San Siro.
