Juventus are reported to be furious with Chelsea for bringing in Inter Milan to drive up the price of transfer target Romelu Lukaku.
The Bianconeri have identified the Belgian as a transfer target this summer and have contacted Chelsea to that effect. Inter Milan, where Lukaku spent last season on loan, are also looking to keep the former Everton man who has had two successful stints at the club.
They have not made any offers yet, giving Juventus the upper hand in the chase.
Chelsea, Lukaku’s patent club, reportedly alerted the Nerazzurri to Juventus’ bid in a move to ignite a bidding war between both clubs. The Blues want £38.4 million for Lukaku but a bidding war between two clubs who see Lukaku as a prime target could cause his price to shoot up to £50 million.
The 36-time Scudetto champions are said to be incensed by this move from Chelsea and could drop their pursuit of Lukaku altogether as a result.
There are offers from Saudi Arabia for Lukaku which he has already turned down. This, it is believed, led Chelsea to try and drive up the price for Lukaku via a bidding war as they stood to make as much as £50 million if the Belgium national team all-time leading goalscorer moved to the Middle East.
In the past, however, Lukaku has stated that he would not play for Juventus or AC Milan out of loyalty to Inter. “Juventus or AC Milan? Never,” he said at the time.
“I told Manchester United that I would go to Inter even if Juventus had made a better offer. Also in the future, in Italy, I will either play for Inter or go back to Anderlecht.”
Inter, meanwhile, are keen on the move which could also be a disadvantage for Juventus in their pursuit of Lukaku. “The dialogue never stopped with them, we know he cannot be handed to us for a second season on loan, so we are evaluating if it is possible to buy him outright.
“He knows full well that we want to bring him back here, we’ll see if we can find the solution with Chelsea,” Inter’s sporting director Piero Ausilio said.
Inter president Steven Zhang, meanwhile, added: “He showed great attachment to Inter. He loves Inter, that’s very clear. He’s an amazing guy. But the guy has a contract with Chelsea, so we have to wait to talk to them to understand.”
Lukaku, meanwhile, will do pre-season with Chelsea under new boss Mauricio Pochettino, which could lead to his extended stay at Stamford Bridge.
