Lukaku exit could spark Chelsea power struggle between Tuchel and owners

Chelsea face a huge summer decision with Romelu Lukaku’s future unclear as new owner Todd Boehly and Thomas Tuchel may hold differing views on the club’s record-signing

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Who could replace Lukaku at Chelsea?

Romelu Lukaku’s future at Chelsea remains uncertain with Thomas Tuchel happy to let the Belgian seek pastures new.

Lukaku made a club-record return to Stamford Bridge last summer, joining from Inter Milan for just shy of £100m. His much anticipated switch started with a bang but quickly fizzled out and the Blues now face a decision on whether to cut their losses or stick by the forward.

Inter are keen to have the Belgian back at the San Siro whilst the player’s preference is a return to Italy, where he previously spent two years. The only element of the deal holding back an Italy return is the financials with Chelsea looking to administer a hefty loan fee.

Inter Milan chief Alessando Antonello said: “Certainly there is the great desire of the player to return, the economic-financial feasibility must be verified and some technical problems must be solved. By June 30? We’ll try to do it in the correct timeframe.”

However any deal may well force Thomas Tuchel into having a difficult conversation with new owner Todd Boehly. The American led a consortium which purchased the club from Roman Abramovich and his relationship with Lukaku remains intact.

The same cannot be said for Tuchel however, who is keen for the player to move on. The German is not one to mince his words and may have to underline his desire to offload Lukaku, who was often on the bench in the second-half of last season.

Where will Lukaku be playing next season? Have your say in the comments!

The Chelsea boss was more than willing to publicly criticise Lukaku, who only scored eight times in the league, and eventually resorted to playing with a false 9 system as the Belgian watched on from the bench. It means there is the potential for some internal disagreement as different power holders retain contrasting views on the forward.

Petr Cech, the club’s Technical and Performance Advisor, recently suggested Lukaku was going to stay at the club. He told Sky Sports: “I personally believe he will have a great season. Last season we saw how strong he can be in the beginning when he came. Unfortunately the long-term injury he sustained in the game with Aston Villa slowed everything down and then he had Covid.

“We could see towards the end of the season when he was fit and ready to go how strong he is. We had a particular season as a team, around Christmas with Covid, and he was one of those affect. I have full confidence he will bounce back and have a strong season.”