EXCLUSIVE: West Ham in pole position to land Chelsea flop Romeu Lukaku

Steve Kay

• Updated: 21 Aug 2023 15:55 BST
• 3 min read

Exclusive

West Ham are in talks with Romelu Lukaku after being given encouragement by the player’s representatives, while FootballTransfers has learnt that the Hammers are in pole position to sign the striker despite interest from the Saudi Pro League.

The striker has proposals on the table from clubs in Saudi Arabia while we understand that Tottenham are also keen on bringing in Lukaku on loan, as previously revealed.

Chelsea are not expecting him to be at the club after deadline day, we understand. The former Manchester United striker has also been in talks with Juventus but Chelsea refused to swap Lukaku with Juventus star Dusan Vlahovic given that the Old Lady demanded a further an extra £48m on top of that.

The 30-year-old also refused to return to Inter earlier this summer when the Nerazzurri were ready to re-sign him on a permanent deal. Lukaku is currently training alone at Chelsea while his future remains unclear.

Pochettino says agreement still in place with Juventus

Ahead of Chelsea’s match with West Ham on Sunday, Mauricio Pochettino spoke at a press conference, saying that both his side and Juventus have found an agreement.

“It is not only one side – it is two sides needed to find the best solution,” he said. “You cannot put it only on the club, it is about both sides. The situation is where it is because of both sides. Both sides have arrived at an agreement.”

The saga surrounding the Belgian has been going on for months. Inter, were keen to re-sign him but were ultimately unable to afford the forward.

The Serie A side had offered to once again take him on loan with an obligation to buy but Chelsea want to get their €113m player off the books permanently.