The Italian club AC Milan are well prepared to push for a move for the Belgian striker Romelu Lukaku as reported by the Italian newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport on Thursday.
Lukaku spent last season on loan at Inter Milan and the Italian giants are hoping to extend that loan for another year as the player remains reluctant to return to parent club Chelsea.
However, as the Milan midfielder Sandro Tonali is closing in to join the English club Newcastle United for a record £60m fee, the Italian club is eager to reinvest the money to strengthen the squad for the next season.
While Inter are only willing to take the Belgian for one more year on a loan deal, Milan could up to €40m.
Milan wants to buy the Belgian for a permanent move as they want to pair him up with the French striker Olivier Giroud.
The Italian club already lost one of their most important attacking forces in Brahim Diaz who returned to Real Madrid after a three-year loan spell in June.
A strong interest from Saudi Arabia for Lukaku was also seen in the past days but he is understood to not be keen on a move to the Kingdom, where he is also wanted by Al-Hilal.
It now appears there is a battle between the two Milan teams and that could ramp up pressure on Inter.
On the other hand, Chelsea who are revamping their squad under the leadership of the new manager Mauricio Pochettino, would not let the Belgian leave for free.
Earlier on Wednesday (June 21), Arsenal agreed on a deal to sign Chelsea’s attacker Kai Havertz for £65m.
Havertz cemented his name in the history books of the club when he scored a winning goal in the 2021 UEFA Champions League (final) against Manchester City and helped Chelsea lift the title for the second time in the club's history at the Estadio do Dragao in Porto, Portugal.
He won three trophies with Chelsea, UCL and UEFA Super Cup in 2021 and FIFA Club World Cup in 2022. He failed to win a domestic accolade in three years.