Mauricio Pochettino and Romelu Lukaku 'not talking' as Chelsea striker left in cold

Posted Wednesday, August 23, 2023 by Express.co.uk

Romelu Lukaku is not in Chelsea's plans this season.

There has been no contact between Mauricio Pochettino and Romelu Lukaku in recent weeks as the Belgian striker does not have a future at Chelsea. The 30-year-old frontman is currently training with the Blues' U21 side as the club continue to encourage bids for their former record signing.

Lukaku blew his chances of returning to Italy with Inter on a permanent deal earlier in the window after holding discreet talks with arch-rivals Juventus.

But now Inter are no longer interested in his services while Juve are struggling to find the cash to fund a transfer.

In the meantime, Lukaku has been frozen out of the first-team picture at Chelsea after being left behind for their pre-season tour of the United States.

There had been speculation that Pochettino could offer Lukaku the chance to resurrect his Chelsea career upon arrival in west London but that was not the case.

Instead Lukaku was told in no uncertain terms that he was free to find a new club - something he is yet to achieve.

As per The Telegraph, Pochettino and Lukaku aren't currently speaking which is yet another clear indication that there is no way back for the Belgium international at Chelsea.

The Blues are already exploring the signing of another forward but they could do with shifting Lukaku from their books to free up some additional funds.

Brennan Johnson is of interest and a swap deal has been considered for the Nottingham Forest forward.

Forest are admirers of several Chelsea players including Andrey Santos, Ian Maatsen and Callum Hudson-Odoi amongst others.

Chelsea are aware of this and are therefore considering a player-plus-cash proposal for the Welshman although Spurs and West Ham are also keen.

Arsenal striker Folarin Balogun is also admired but Chelsea are now prepared to pay anywhere close to Arsenal's £50m valuation.

Pochettino also recently declared that he did not want to make any signings that were going to block the pathway of Armando Broja.

Broja suffered a serious knee injury last season and is now on the comeback trail.

He has attracted plenty of interest from the Premier League and Italy but Chelsea still have high hopes for the Albanian frontman.

Chelsea have also looked at signing Dusan Vlahovic from Juventus but he is not universally popular in the Stamford Bridge boardroom.

The prospect of a swap deal was considered involving Lukaku but Juventus were requesting £35m cash on top of a straight trade - something Chelsea have no interest in.