Earlier this week, Lukaku asked his club, Inter Milan, to allow him to leave this summer. He plans to return to Chelsea, the team he left in 2014.Inter fans have made protests to their Chinese owners at their most recent friendly, a 2-0 win over Parma on Sunday.

The first part of the Lukaku’s medical has taken place in Milan while the club lawyers negotiate a transfer sum. The striker is expected to sign on a five-year deal.

Inter Milan have rejected at least two previous bids made by Chelsea, for more information see here Inter reject Chelsea’s £85m plus player offer.

Thomas Tuchel has been speaking about Romelu Lukaku and Chelsea's transfers pic.twitter.com/BfJS5Hoowi

— Goal (@goal) August 5, 2021

Since leaving Chelsea seven years ago for Everton, Lukaku has become one of the most consistent strikers in Europe. Despite having one poor season for Manchester United, he has claimed the Premier League and Serie A golden boot awards.

These performances made him a major part of Belgium’s Euro 2020 squad. He score four goals and was named in the Team of the Tournament this summer.

Chelsea have already started making room for the Belgian by selling veteran striker, Oliver Giroud to AC Milan for €1 million. The club have also been in talks with Atalanta to offload Tammy Abraham.

Been exactly 10 years when we signed Romelu Lukaku the first time. pic.twitter.com/pKW3NowxZN

— Frank Khalid (@FrankKhalidUK) August 7, 2021

Is Lukaku worth the money for Chelsea?

Although it seems that Lukaku has been around for a long time, the player in still only 28. Last season, the big striker scored 24 and assist 11 in 36 matches. This was a slight improvement on the 23 goals he got the previous year.

Standing at over 6’2”, he is known worldwide for his physical presence, strength and speed. His dribbling has been the butt of many critics jokes in recent years but no one can deny his ability to finish in front of goal with his head or left foot.

After missing out on the summer transfer window two years ago, the money is still burning a hole in Roman Abramovich’s pocket. Even though this is a major investment, the reigning Champions League winners can be confident of Lukaku’s ability.

Just remembered this is Lukaku’s last ever goal for Inter pic.twitter.com/gRIhxZjBKo

— Uncle $harma (@RSharmzz) August 9, 2021

The post Lukaku undergoing medical for record transfer to Chelsea appeared first on SportsNewsIreland.

The Belgium striker has jumped back on top of Chelsea’s wanted list of strikers after talks for Erling Haaland has reached a dead-end.

It has been reported by many outlets that Chelsea have already had two ”secret” bids turned down for Lukaku.

Inter’s board turned down the player plus cash deal as they see Lukaku as ”untouchable”.

Romelu Lukaku has jumped back to the top of Chelsea’s wanted list of strikers with Borussia Dortmund showing no sign of altering their stance on Erling Haaland – @Matt_Law_DT reports #CFC
https://t.co/uGpK7yZVyn

— Telegraph Football (@TeleFootball) August 2, 2021

Thomas Tuchel is keen to sign a world-class striker after Timo Werner failed to deliver in front of the goal so far.

Borussia Dortmund striker Erling Haaland has been touted as Chelsea’s main priority this summer.

However, with Dortmund in no rush to sell and with a £150 million price tag, the deal for Lukaku is seen as a more realistic target.

The Italian side has already sold Achraf Hakimi to PSG to receive funds after financial difficulty held the club to ransom after the COVID-19 pandemic.

Chelsea, who have put Tammy Abraham up for sale, and have recently sold Oliver Giroud to AC Milan, are in much need of a clinical striker.

Chelsea striker update:

• Chelsea have had two bids rejected for Romelu Lukaku in recent weeks, & will likely go in with a third bid soon. [@TheAthletic]

• This week is the deadline to agree a deal for Haaland – Chelsea are likely to make an informal offer. [@JanAageFjortoft] pic.twitter.com/eLOMgnncAH

— LDN (@LDNFootbalI) August 2, 2021

Other options such as Robert Lewandowski and Tottenham’s Harry Kane has been touted as potential signings.

The latter being unlikely, with Daniel Levy’s stance on selling to rivals.

Lukaku left Chelsea back in 2014, after being sold to Everton, and was on the verge of re-signing with the London side in 2017 before Manchester United came in last minute with a deal.

After the departure of manager Antonio Conte, Inter announced Simone Inzaghi as their new coach.

He (Lukaku) has held productive talks with Inzaghi and remains happy at Inter.

Despite the interest from his former club, Lukaku has not pushed for a move, and will likely wait to see if Chelsea does match Inter’s demands before the deadline shuts on the 31st of August.

The post Inter reject Chelsea’s £85m plus player offer appeared first on SportsNewsIreland.

Football clubs are businesses, that’s a fact. The owners of these clubs strive to maintain a profitable model while competing at a top level year after year. However, without fans, none of this would be possible. This makes it all the more frustrating when you consider that fans are routinely pushed aside when it comes to interests regarding the football clubs they support.

The last few years have seen unprecedented levels of greed from many football club owners, particularly those competing in the top 5 European leagues. This has resulted in plans for a so-called “European Super League”, a competition which contains 12 of Europe’s top clubs, has no promotion or relegation and was formulated purely to protect the financial interests of the club’s involved.

Arsenal, Tottenham, Manchester United, Manchester City, Chelsea, Liverpool, Inter Milan, AC Milan, Juventus, Atlético Madrid, Real Madrid and Barcelona are the clubs in question.

Paris Saint-Germain, Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund all rejected/opposed invitations to the competition.

“The club wants to implement the planned reform of the UEFA Champions League. The plans to found a Super League have been rejected… Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund had 100% identical views,” expressed Dortmund in an official statement made earlier today.

UEFA also completely oppose the plans put in place, even going as far to say that heavy sanctions will be imposed on clubs and players who take part in the competition.

“We are all united against this nonsense of a project… The players that will play in the closed league will be banned from playing in the World Cup and Euros,” confirmed UEFA president Alex Ceferin.

HOW FOOTBALLERS HAVE REACTED TO THE PLAN

The majority of football fans are completely against the formation of the European Super League and that extends to current and ex-pros, as well.

Several pundits made their opinions on the project clear yesterday, including Gary Neville who made a passionate argument against the formation of the competition.

“I’m disgusted, absolutely disgusted. I’m disgusted with Manchester United and Liverpool the most,” said Neville while appearing on Sky Sports yesterday.

“Liverpool say they’re the people’s club. ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’, the fans’ club. Manchester United, 100 years, born from workers around here, and they’re breaking into a league without competition. It’s an absolute disgrace.”

Paris Saint-Germain footballer Ander Herrera was one of the first current pros to chime in with their opinion. He released a statement earlier today expressing concerns over the league.

pic.twitter.com/C9zV59zJxH

— Ander Herrera (@AnderHerrera) APRIL 19, 2021

A number of footballers have since followed Herrera in publicly stating their opposition to the plan.

Kids grow up dreaming to win the World Cup and the Champions League – not any Super League. The enjoyment of big games is that they only happen once or twice a year, not every week. Really hard to understand for all football fans out there…

— Mesut Özil (@MesutOzil1088) April 19, 2021

‘Dreams can’t be bought’

Bruno Fernandes shared this post from Portugal team-mate Daniel Podence on his Instagram story pic.twitter.com/aIHhUHZ53i

— Goal (@goal) April 19, 2021

pic.twitter.com/A8WIIUCHrH

— Marcus Rashford MBE (@MarcusRashford) April 20, 2021

| "I don't like it and I hope it doesn't happen."

James Milner speaks out against the proposed breakaway European Super League…#MNF pic.twitter.com/NkMmNJhiyA

— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) April 19, 2021

Jordan Henderson has called a meeting of all the Premier League captains in response to the Super League announcement, reports @MikeKeegan_DM pic.twitter.com/Q2YkUCuIrV

— B/R Football (@brfootball) April 20, 2021

The post Current and ex-pros react to announcement of European Super League appeared first on SportsNewsIreland.

Inter Milan have been hot on the trails of Kevin Zefi for months and it appears they’ve finally landed their man.

Zefi is one of the most highly touted prospects in Irish football and was reportedly involved in a tug-of-war between Inter, PSV Eindhoven and Juventus in recent months. It now appears that Inter have come out on top with the move set to be announced shortly.

Compensation for the move has not been revealed yet, but given Zefi is just 15 yet, it’s not likely to be much.

Zefi is of Albanian parentage but grew up in Ireland and has represented Ireland at youth level.

In fact, his performance against the likes of England for Ireland u15s significantly enhanced his reputation from a relative unknown to a superstar in the making.

One of his biggest achievements to date was becoming the youngest ever goalscorer in the League of Ireland as he netted for Shamrock Rovers II against Longford on the 4^th September 2020. He was just 15 years and 216 days old at the time goal.

It will be intriguing to see how Zefi’s career unfolds in the coming years.

The post Shamrock Rovers wonderkid Kevin Zefi set for Inter Milan appeared first on SportsNewsIreland.