Decisive hours. The negotiation between Chelsea and Inter for Lukaku has come alive, to the point that it could close as early as the weekend. This, at least, would be the Blues' intention, determined to summon the Belgian even on Wednesday, when they face Villarreal in the European Super Cup final and also the player, after accepting the court Abramovich, pushes to move as soon as possible. It must be said that Inter would also have every interest in concluding the deal in a short time, in order to then be able to concentrate on substitutes: this is the sine qua non set by Marotta and Auxiliary, very angry at the property's decision to give the green light to the sale of Lukaku.
In the early summer plans, in fact, the only excellent transfer was to be that of Hakimi, so much so that the Nerazzurri managers had publicly exposed themselves, both with the media and with the fans, reassuring everyone that there would be no more. Suning however he thinks differently, which is why, once Chelsea's offer arrived, the green light arrived: in this sense, the words of Federico Pastorello, prosecutor of the Belgian, who announced shortly a clarifying version of the facts. In fact, it is true that the player accepted the transfer, but only after the push of the Zhang family, who did not consider him non-transferable at all. In this boiling climate (the fans are on a war footing, even if for now the dispute is limited to a few banners under the headquarters) it is in everyone's interest to close as soon as possible, provided, however, that Chelsea meet Inter's requests .
The latest offer of 110 million was rejected, also because Inter still owes Manchester United 55 million, plus 5% of the resale: the game, in short, is worth the candle only in the face of a minimum of 120 million, a figure that the Blues are willing to achieve but only with the inclusion of a technical counterpart. Marcos Alonso, the first name proposed, does not excite Inzaghi, it is a different matter for Emerson Palmieri and Davide Zappacosta, both appreciated by the Nerazzurri management, but only if included separately.
There are therefore some distances left before the white smoke, but everything suggests that it will arrive shortly, so that Inter can then dive into the entry market. The plan is to replace Lukaku with two forwards, one with breakthrough (Vlahovic the dream, Zapata and Belotti the most attainable), the other more technical (Correa would be Inzaghi's favourite). The feeling, however, is that it will go up low-cost solutions, also because Suning intends to budget a large part of the treasury.
And so the name of Dzeko, who could even free himself from Rome, eager above all to save his outsized salary, furthermore the candidacies of Scamacca and Raspadori remain alive, young and attractive profiles above all to lower the wage bill. Marotta and Ausilio, as previously mentioned, are not at all happy with the situation, but they have no intention of resigning, at least until August 31st: in fact, at the end of the market, twists and turns cannot be ruled out.
The Lukaku affair monopolizes the Italian market, but abroad we talk above all about Messi, whose break with Barcelona is now irreversible. Laporta, in the eagerly awaited press conference on Friday, confirmed that the economic problems are too big to keep Leo, at this point close to marrying elsewhere. PSG, as mentioned in recent days, are the favorites to grab him, as admitted by coach Pochettino himself. In France there is talk of a two-year contract worth 35 million per season and the announcement, just like for Lukaku, is expected shortly: the Argentine will most likely replace Mbappé, destined for Real Madrid, with all due respect to Cristiano Ronaldo, destined at this point to remain at Juve.
No one, neither in the black and white house nor in the Portuguese entourage, had ever publicly said goodbye, but the possibility existed and was linked exclusively to PSG, the only one able to afford an investment of this magnitude. However, Messi's twist closed all the doors, establishing, once and for all, the permanence of CR7 in the shadow of the Mole. Confirmation could also arrive soon Dybala, whose renewal is proceeding well (we are talking about 8 million plus bonuses with a release clause), as well as the purchase of Pjanic: Sunday's friendly match against Barça, in fact, seems to have been made to close the discussion. The front is still open Locatelli, but even here we are getting closer to the longed-for white smoke, with an offer of 35 million (5 for the two-year loan, 20 for the redemption, 7 for the bonus and 25% of any future resale) made possible by the sale from Demiral, who moved to Atalanta for 30 million (again subject to redemption in 12 months).
Less hectic days instead at Milan, where the main focus is on making money with Height, whose transfer to Eintracht for 12 million is now a done deal. The treasure, combined with what the club aims to obtain from Conti and Caldara, will then be invested on the market, even if it is not yet clear where. The attacking midfielder's box could be filled by Ilicic, with whom Maldini and Massara already have an agreement in principle: the novelty is that Atalanta seems to be willing to negotiate on the basis of a loan, which would allow the Rossoneri to buy another number 10, or to direct the funds to a midfielder (but first Pioli wants to evaluate Pobega) and a right-back.
Finally, there are signs of relaxation between Napoli and Insigne, at least this is what filters from the blue club. De Laurentiis would be leveraging the Lukaku-Messi cases to convince his playmaker, showing him that there are no non-transferable transferables in the market, especially in this one, not even the so-called flags. Impossible to blame him, but now we'll see if it will be enough to move Lorenzo, far from enthusiastic about lowering his salary in the summer that saw him climb to the top of Europe with the national team.
