Chelsea Transfer News Roundup: Blues backed to offload Romelu Lukaku for £75 million; club receive boost in pursuit of Bayern Munich striker, and more - 7 June 2022

Chelsea will have a chance to revamp their squad this summer after a disappointing season. Manager Thomas Tuchel will be eager to assemble a team capable of fighting on all fronts in the upcoming campaign.

Meanwhile, Stan Collymore believes the Blues could offload Romelu Lukaku for £75 million. Elsewhere, the London giants have received a boost in their pursuit of a Bayern Munich striker.

On that note, here's a look at the key Chelsea transfer stories as on 7 June 2022:

Stan Collymore backs Chelsea to offload Romelu Lukaku for £75 million

Former Liverpool striker Stan Collymore believes Chelsea could be willing to offload Romelu Lukaku for £75 million.

The Belgian has cut a sorry figure since arriving at Stamford Bridge last summer and is likely to leave this year. Inter Milan are interested in welcoming him back to the San Siro.

Speaking to Caught Offside, Collymore said that the Nerazzurri might only be able to afford him on loan.

“[Todd] Boehly, the new owner, might come in and say ‘look, we can afford to take a 25 per cent cut. The manager doesn’t want him, the player doesn’t want to be here. Let’s not have this rotten fish in and around the club. Let’s get £75m’,” said Collymore.

He continued:

“But could they [Inter Milan] even afford £75m? – So you’re looking at perhaps a loan and then it becomes about the loan fee and what a bizarre situation we will then be in. A man that has won a Scudetto with Inter Milan as a core part of the team, that learned so much from Antonio Conte, goes back to Inter Milan but is a loanee.”

Collymore went on to add that the Blues shouldn't have signed Lukaku in the first place.

"They didn’t need a Romeu Lukaku type player. They actually didn’t need somebody to hold the ball up and bring other people in because Chelsea were already in other the opponent’s half and had bodies in really good positions,” said Collymore.

He added:

“[…] He’s gone from Inter Milan where everything goes through him […] Once you take away two or three of somebody’s checklist of attributes, you can become very unhappy, very, very quickly.”

Blues receive boost in Robert Lewandowski pursuit

Chelsea have received a boost in their pursuit of Robert Lewandowski.

According to Caught Offside via El Nacional, Lewandowski is having second thoughts about his move to Barcelona.

The Polish striker has announced that he will leave Bayern Munich this summer. The Blaugrana have made the 33-year-old their numero uno target and are working to take him to the Camp Nou.

However, Lewandowski is sceptical about the move, as he doesn't trust Blaugrana president Joan Laporta.

As a result, the player has instructed his agent to initiate contact with other clubs. The Blues are among his suitors and want to make him the focal point of their attack next season. However, they could face stiff competition from Liverpool for his signature.

Barcelona could sign Cesar Azpilicueta for less than €5 million

Barcelona could sign Cesar Azpilicueta for less than €5 million this summer, according to The Hard Tackle via journalist Santi Ovalle.

The Spanish full-back was supposed to become a free agent next month. However, his contract was automatically renewed after he registered a predefined number of appearances last season.

That means he's no longer available on a Bosman move this summer.

The Blaugrana were hoping to pick him up for free this summer. However, they could still secure his signature for less than €5 million, provided the Blues are willing to let him go.