Newcastle United and Tottenham Hotspur could reportedly make a surprise move for Chelsea striker Romelu Lukaku in the summer.
According to a report from Calciomercatoweb, Newcastle United and Tottenham Hotspur could consider a potential summer move for on-loan Chelsea striker Romelu Lukaku.
The 29-year-old Chelsea striker is currently out on loan at Inter Milan, but he has struggled to make his mark this season with an array of niggling injuries.
Lukaku joined Chelsea from Anderlecht in 2011 and showed tremendous promise in loan spells with West Bromwich Albion and Everton before signing a permanent deal with the Toffees in the 2014 summer window. He later joined Manchester United for a fee of more than €80 million.
After three unsatisfactory years at Old Trafford, he moved on to Inter Milan, where he prospered and was regarded as a world-class striker.
He returned to Chelsea for a price of more than €100 million in the summer of 2021, but his spell was underwhelming, to say the least. What’s more, he actively pushed for a return to Inter and criticised then-coach Thomas Tuchel.
The Blues granted him his wish and loaned him back to the Nerazzurri, but Lukaku has failed to rediscover his shooting boots in Italy, having only managed one goal in seven league games this season, and with the Serie A outfit not impressed with his fitness, he looks set to return to Chelsea in the summer when his Inter loan ends.
After also enduring a misfiring World Cup campaign with Belgium, it’s fair to say Lukaku’s stock has fallen drastically over the last couple of years. Despite that, there is still no shortage of takers for the Belgian international, with Newcastle United and Spurs showing interest in landing the striker at the end of the season. Atletico Madrid and Bayern Munich are also keeping tabs.
Lukaku has not been at his best for some time now, but if there’s any coach who can get the most out of him, that’s Tottenham boss Antonio Conte. Indeed, the 29-year-old was a pivotal player for Conte when he won the league title with Inter Milan, so it’s no wonder that Tottenham are interested in him. However, the report states that any move would hinge on whether Conte stays at Tottenham beyond this season.
The Italian manager will be a free agent at the end of the agent unless Tottenham can agree over a contract extension. If he were to leave Spurs, that would be a hammer blow for the club after backing him heavily in the transfer market, and the Lilywhites must do everything in their power to persuade Conte to stay put in north London.
Tottenham have historically lacked another consistent goal scorer to share the burden with Harry Kane. Lukaku could be the answer, but it’s unclear whether Chelsea would be open to offloading the Belgium striker to a direct rival.
Newcastle, meanwhile, have yet to replace striker Chris Wood, who left the club for Nottingham Forest on a loan-to-buy deal. While Lukaku is a top-quality player who can win games all on his own when firing on all cylinders, his first touch, defensive work rate, and link-up play have often been heavily criticised throughout his career, which are the key attributes of manager Eddie Howe’s system.
