Chelsea reject £7m loan offer for Romelu Lukaku from European giants - Reports

Chelsea have reportedly rejected an offer from Inter Milan to loan Romelu Lukaka for the upcoming season.

The Belgian striker joined Chelsea for a then club-record fee of £97.5 million in the summer of 2021. He had a mixed first season under Thomas Tuchel, scoring 15 times in 44 games across competitions.

Lukaku was allowed to join I Nerazzurri on a year-long loan spell for the 2022-23 campaign — the club where he spent two seasons before rejoining Chelsea. It seems that the Italian giants are keen on retaining the 30-year-old striker for another year.

The Belgian has registered 78 goals and 23 assists in 132 career games for Inter. According to the Telegraph's Matt Law, Inter offered £7 million to retain him for 12 more months, but Chelsea rejected the bid. The Blues are set for a very busy transfer window as they look to trim down a bloated squad.

Kai Havertz, as per ESPN, is set to join Arsenal for £67.5 million, while Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang's future at the club is also highly uncertain. It remains to be seen what new manager Mauricio Pochetinno is planning with regard to the centre-forward position for the new season.

The Blues also have 21-year-old striker Armando Broja in their ranks and have used Raheem Sterling in the false nine role before. David Datro Fofana, 20, will also hope to get some meaningful playing time under Pochettino.

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Chelsea reach agreement to sign Nicolas Jackson - reports

Chelsea have reportedly reached an agreement to sign Villarreal striker Nicolas Jackson ahead of the new season.

According to transfer expert Fabrizio Romano (h/t GOAL), the Blues will play a shade above the player's £30 million release clause. He burst onto the scene last season for the Yellow Submarine, scoring 12 times in 26 La Liga appearances.

Jackson, 22, is still in his formative years and could benefit from playing under Mauricio Pochettino, a manager known for getting the best out of young players. The Senegal international has spent the entirety of his senior career at Villarreal.

It remains to be seen how he adjusts to life in the Premier League. Chelsea have struggled to sign a reliable No. 9 in recent years, with Timo Werner, Kai Havertz, Romelu Lukaku and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang failing to impress. They will hope that things are different with Jackson.

As per Opta, among players aged 21 and below, Jackson had the best non-penalty goals per 90 rate in Europe's top five leagues in 2022-23 (0.67). He also had the best conversion rate (29.3%) in La Liga last season for players with more than six non-penalty goals (h/t Squawka).