Tottenham Hotspur have held ‘preliminary talks’ with Romelu Lukaku ahead of a possible move from Chelsea as they look to bring in a replacement for Harry Kane, according to Italian publication Calciomercato.
Spurs manager Ange Postecoglou needs to sign a top class striker after Kane joined Bayern Munich earlier this month and Lukaku has emerged as a potential target.
The Belgium international is attracting interest from several clubs including Juventus – who have been in negotiations with Chelsea over a possible swap deal including Dušan Vlahović.
Lukaku has already agreed a three-year deal with Massimiliano Allegri’s side but the move could fall through due to the Serie A giant’s demand for an additional £34m (€40m) plus the 30-year-old.
It’s believed that Chelsea are now looking elsewhere for another forward, opening the door for Tottenham to hijack their proposed move for Lukaku before the end of the month.
Calciomercato claims that Tottenham are showing a keen interest in the Belgian and have already held preliminary talks with Lukaku over a possible switch to North London.
There is nothing concrete yet but the Italian publication says Chelsea are ready to do business if £38m (€45m) is put on the table while Lukaku wants a salary worth £9m (€10.8m) net per season.
Kane replacement
According to Calciomercato, Lukaku has rejected a move to Saudi Arabia as he wants to stay in Europe and continue his playing career at the highest level.
Chelsea are not willing to reintegrate him back into the squad and want to offload the former Everton and Manchester United striker in the coming weeks after not even assigning him a shirt number.
Lukaku is regarded as one of the best goal poachers in the world, scoring 251 goals so far in his career. He has enormous Premier League experience, having played for West Bromwich Albion, Everton, Manchester United, and Chelsea during his time in England.
He spent last season on loan at Inter Milan where he helped Simone Inzaghi’s side reach the final of the UEFA Champions League, however, they lost 1-0 to Manchester City. Lukaku scored 14 goals and recorded seven assists in 37 matches as they finished 3rd in the Serie A table.
We will have to wait and see if Tottenham submit an offer for Lukaku in the coming days but it’s clear they need a top class striker to replace Kane and the Belgian is firmly on their radar.
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