West Ham now the most likely side to sign 30-year-old Chelsea player, Pochettino expects him to leave

Add as preferred source on Google

West Ham are now in pole position to sign Romelu Lukaku from Chelsea this summer – with Mauricio Pochettino expecting the striker to leave.

That is according to Football Transfers.

So, what is the latest on Romelu Lukaku at Chelsea? Let’s take a look…

What’s the story?

Well, the Blues have been trying to offload the Belgian all summer – with little success.

Chelsea saw talks with Inter Milan collapse, while Lukaku himself is against moving to Saudi Arabia.

Juventus remain in talks, although discussions seem to have hit a brick wall as the Italian giants insist on Chelsea buying Dusan Vlahovic as part of the deal.

Now – however – West Ham could offer Lukaku a fresh start in east London.

Football Transfers believe the Hammers are currently frontrunners to sign the 30-year-old.

Tottenham are also believed to be interested in Lukaku following Harry Kane’s move to Bayern Munich, although West Ham are leading the race after being encouraged by the Belgium international’s representatives to make a move.

Football Transfers add that Pochettino does not expect the Antwerp-born striker to still be at Chelsea beyond transfer deadline day.

Lukaku is said to be training alone at Cobham, and will spend the next six months in the stands if he fails to secure a move – 90min believe Pochettino has no intention of putting him back in the squad.

Lukaku to West Ham would be great news for Chelsea

At this stage of the transfer window, it would be a bonus for Chelsea to offload Lukaku to any side.

Those inside Stamford Bridge are surely starting to get a bit worried about having to keep the Belgian and his £350,000-a-week wages for at least another six months, should an exit fail to materialise.

However, West Ham sound genuinely keen to sign Lukaku, so Chelsea now have fresh hope of selling Lukaku after negotiations with Inter Milan and Juventus faltered.