Inter Milan have opened talks with Chelsea over loan deals for duo Kalidou Koulibaly and Romelu Lukaku… as Blues look to persuade keeper Andre Onana into a move to London
- Champions League finalists are keen to secure a double loan move in summer
- Chelsea are willing to offload both Koulibaly and Lukaku in the coming months
- The Blues are also looking to negotiate a deal for Inter keeper Andre Onana
Inter Milan have opened talks with Chelsea over potential loan deals for Kalidou Koulibaly and Romelu Lukaku.
The Champions League finalists are keen to bring the west London duo to Italy as part of their business in the summer transfer market.
Belgian striker Lukaku spent last season on loan with Inter, while Koulibaly remained at Chelsea but struggled to find his form during their turbulent season.
As a result, the Italian outfit are hopeful of landing loan deals for both players, with club director Piero Ausilio set to arrive in London this week for negotiations.
Chelsea boss Mauricio Pochettino has been asked to work with Lukaku upon his return to the club, but it’s expected the striker will ask to leave anyway.
Inter Milan are hoping to seal another loan deal for Belgian striker Romelu Lukaku this summer
The Champions League finalists are also keen on a temporary deal for Kalidou Koulibaly
Despite both of them being out of favour at the club, the Blues remain reluctant to let either player leave on a loan deal this summer.
Instead, they are hopeful that they will receive a fee for former Napoli defender Koulibaly, who has failed to live up to expectations since joining last summer.
The west London side are also interested in negotiating over Inter goalkeeper Andre Onana, amid their search for a potential new number one.
Onana, who served a nine-month drug ban in 2021, has become one of Europe’s most sought after goalkeepers following his performances in the Champions League this season.
Meanwhile, at Chelsea, both Edouard Mendy and Kepa Arrizabalaga are unlikely to be given a starting spot in goal after disappointing campaigns for both players.
Koulibaly, similarly, struggled to find consistency as Chelsea stumbled to 12th this season but in eight years at Napoli he became one of the world’s best defenders.
Despite Inter’s interest, Koulibaly shared a post on Instagram two weeks ago which implied that his immediate future remained at Stamford Bridge.
He said: ‘Chelsea fans. Your support has been a shining light in a difficult season for us all. Everything we do on the pitch is for you and this season it was no way near enough; no excuses.
‘We will fight to make you proud again and I won’t stop until that happens. 2023/24 starts now. Thank you and see you soon’.
Chelsea are hopeful of using Inter keeper Andre Onana during their transfer negotiations
The Blues have also enquired over the availability of Villarreal’s £30million forward Nicolas Jackson – however also face competition from Bournemouth.
The Cherries are said to have made an offer for the Senegalese international – who scored 12 LaLiga goals in 2022-23.
Another Chelsea striker target, Atalanta’s Rasmus Hojland, remains a serious option for Manchester United after talks for Tottenham’s Harry Kane hit an impasse.
The 20-year-old Dane is one of Europe’s most exciting prospects and would cost roughly half the price of Kane and Napoli’s Victor Osimhen.
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