Chelsea offered €43m deal by Premier League rivals to cast doubt over Osimhen transfer

Romelu Lukaku is supposedly available to be signed by Aston Villa from Chelsea this summer for a ridiculous price, surpassing even Napoli.

In the summer of 2021, Lukaku returned to Chelsea from Inter Milan for a reported £97 million. However, despite his assertion that he had “unfinished business” at Stamford Bridge, he had a rough time at the hands of former manager Thomas Tuchel, claiming in an explosive interview that he wanted to go back to Inter.

The Belgian forward has been on loan from Chelsea for the past two seasons, first at Inter and subsequently at Roma. In 2023–2024, he scored 21 goals in 47 games for the latter team.

Lukaku, 31, is eager to rejoin Antonio Conte, the manager of Napoli who he flourished under at Inter Milan, and the Blues are trying to find a buyer for him this summer.

According to rumors, Chelsea and Napoli are “on the verge” of finalizing a part-exchange agreement for fellow striker Victor Osimhen, and the Belgian is involved in those talks.

It has been reported that Chelsea will send Osimhen, who the Italians value at €100 million, to Naples along with Lukaku and Cesare Casadei in exchange for £38.5 million.

However, Corriere dello Sport claims Villa is prepared to offer Lukaku his whole release clause in order to entice him away from Chelsea, casting doubt on that agreement.

Lukaku would compete with Ollie Watkins for a spot in the starting lineup at Villa Park, but Villa is prepared to go all out and spend €43 million on the striker. Napoli has so far committed to paying €25 million plus an additional €5 million for the player.

Lukaku now only has eyes for Napoli and Conte, but the Belgium international will need to explore other possibilities if the Serie A team is unable to reach a consensus with Chelsea—either as part of an Osimhen trade or through independent negotiations.

Although a report earlier this month revealing Unai Emery’s interest may have more weight, we would advise treating any claim that Villa is prepared to activate the release clause with a grain of salt. At the time, rumors that Chelsea had “come to an agreement with Aston Villa” were obviously untrue.

Lukaku “just wants to go back to his old master,” but Chelsea had pushed him “back to the wall” because they “would like the Belgian to accept the move to Birmingham,” it was further stated.

At the time, the Blues were “losing patience” with Lukaku, who is presently working out by himself at the Cobham training facility while the rest of the team is in the United States for the preseason.