Juventus 'keen to sign Lukaku' but FURIOUS with Chelsea for raising price tag

Juventus are 'interested in signing Chelsea striker Romelu Lukaku', but are furious with the Blues for 'telling Inter Milan about their interest to drive up his price tag.'

Lukaku joined Stamford Bridge for £97.5 million in 2021, but spent last season on loan at Inter after falling out with then-Blues boss Thomas Tuchel.

The Nerazzurri are interested in signing the 30-year-old permanently but had an initial £23m offer rejected by Chelsea, who want around £40m.

According to reports in Il Corriere dello Sport, Juventus are also interested in the striker, but are not happy with the Blues' conduct.

They claim that Chelsea told Inter about the Old Lady's interest with a view to driving him up his price tag, much to the annoyance of Juve.

Saudi side Al Hilal are also interested in the Belgium international, who scored 14 goals last season as Inter reached the Champions League final.

New Blues boss Mauricio Pochettino has not ruled out keeping Lukaku at the club next season, but would prefer a striker who is happy to be in West London.

When asked about the striker in his first press conference as manager, he said: 'Everyone knows what we think. In that case he needs to come back on the 12th or 13th to be part of the squad to start pre-season.

'When he arrives the first thing he'll do is come to my office and say hello. If he is still a Chelsea player, I expect the same.'

The Blues are still looking to offload at least seven players as they continue to recoup more than £212m in sales.

PAOK want Baba Rahman, Al Nassr still want Hakim Ziyech while Ethan Ampadu, Trevoh Chalobah, Malang Sarr and Callum Hudson-Odoi are likely to leave.

Meanwhile, AC Milan are closing in on a  £19m fee plus add-ons with Chelsea for Christian Pulisic.

The 24-year-old is one of several players Chelsea will consider letting go as they start again under Pochettino.

Ideally the American would like to stay in England but other clubs are wary of meeting the winger's current contract which sees him earn more than £200,000-a-week.