Fabrizio Romano claimed on his Twitter that Romelu Lukaku would be going nowhere this summer despite suggested interest from Chelsea.
Romano was delivering a verdict on another Inter Milan player, Nicolo Barella, who he described as ‘untouchable’ amid reported Premier League intrigue.
He used the same phrase to summarise Lukaku’s position with the Serie A champions.
The lethal striker is once again being tagged by Chelsea after it seemed their pursuit had run dry.
Roman Abramovich’s attentions remain on Erling Haaland.
Yet, as the days pass by with no real movement in a potential deal for Borussia Dortmund’s diamond attacker, the Blues might need to find other no.9 alternatives.
Landing Lukaku
This leads them on nicely to Lukaku, who is one of the hottest centre-forward’s in football right now.
After joining I Nerazzurri from Manchester United in 2019 for £74m (BBC), the Belgian has only grown in stature.
His 30 goals in 44 games propelled Inter to the league title last season, their first since 2010.
Chelsea have certainly been captivated by his contributions and would love such a lethal finisher within their ranks.
However, a sensational switch back to Stamford Bridge seems very unlikely for Lukaku, especially after Romano’s latest comments.
Failing to land the Inter icon or Haaland in the same window would be a massive concern for the Blues.
They have already allowed Olivier Giroud to sign for AC Milan, whilst Tammy Abraham is being tipped for a transfer.
Timo Werner and Kai Havertz make up the other alternatives to lead Thomas Tuchel’s front line.
Although between them, the German pair managed 21 goals in 2020/21, nine fewer than Lukaku’s overall total.