Chelsea ready to sell star player for £37 million this summer: Reports
Chelsea are allegedly prepared to sell Napoli target Romelu Lukaku for a fee in the region of £37 million before the end of the summer window.
Lukaku, 31, is said to be not in new Blues manager Enzo Maresca's plans for next season. He spent the 2023-24 campaign on loan at AS Roma, registering 21 goals and four assists in 47 overall appearances.
Now, according to Spanish website Fichajes.net, Chelsea have slapped a price tag of £37 million on Lukaku with Napoli keeping tabs on the striker's situation. Antonio Conte's outfit, however, are only willing to dish out around £26 million to rope in the Belgian star this summer.
Meanwhile, Lukaku has a contract until June 2026 at the Stamford Bridge side. He is also believed to be keen to reunite with Conte, who helped the left-footed striker relish a fine two-year spell at Inter Milan.
Meanwhile, Napoli's need to rope in a new number nine option could speed up the ongoing negotiations with Chelsea. They are expected to lose Victor Osimhen this summer as the Blues-linked attacker has recently revealed his wish to seal a move away from Napoli.
Pep Guardiola backs 21-year-old forward to replicate Cole Palmer's success at Chelsea
After his team's FA Community Shield victory over Manchester United on Saturday, Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola lauded Oscar Bobb's display. He said (h/t Metro):
"Oscar made a fantastic game like all of pre-season. He has something unique; be stopped, then go, first one or two steps, right or left is unbelievable. [Bernardo Silva's] goal, how he turns and makes the cross, huge quality. He has incredible values and work ethic. He has the ability to do it and he can do it more regularly."
Asked if the Norwegian could reach Cole Palmer's heights, he replied:
"That would be great because Cole Palmer's success at Chelsea last season was unbelievable. He was one of the best two or three players in the Premier League as well as his impact at the Euros. That happened because Cole played every single game and I'm pretty sure if Oscar plays a lot of minutes he can do many, many good things – there's no doubt about that."
Bobb, 21, has found the back of the net two times and provided three assists in 27 appearances across all competitions for Manchester City.
Palmer, on the other hand, has recorded 25 goals and 15 assists in 45 total games for Chelsea since departing Manchester City last summer.