Pochettino and Lukaku 'not talking' as stance made clear in Chelsea training
Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino has left Romelu Lukaku to train with the under-21 squad and has not been speaking with the striker, who still appears to be nowhere near the Argentine's first-team plans.
Lukaku joined Chelsea from Inter for £97.5m back in 2021, one of the most expensive Premier League deals ever, but was loaned back to the Nerazzurri after just one season in West London. With Inter moving on to other targets, though, the Belgian international's future is up in the air.
An injury to summer signing Christopher Nkunku has left the Blues looking at options as they attempt to bring in competition for frontman Nicolas Jackson. Arsenal frontman Folarin Balogun is among those being looked at, but it appears there are no plans to turn to Lukaku to fill the role.
According to The Telegraph, Lukaku hasn't even spoken with Pochettino after making clear his desire to leave Stamford Bridge. The 30-year-old's hopes of an Inter switch appear dead in the water, with Simone Inzaghi's side instead picking up Marcus Thuram and Marko Arnautovic.
Inter's stance comes after Lukaku was understood to have held talks with Juventus in private. However, fans of the Turin club made their feelings known about their team making the signing, leaving Lukaku in limbo.
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With Lukaku turning down the opportunity to move to Saudi Arabia, his options have been limited. However, a Juve switch remains possible despite their fans' questions, and Dusan Vlahovic could hold the key.
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Romelu Lukaku is back in London after spending last season out on loan (Getty Images)Juve remain to get Serbian stat Vlahovic's wages off the bill after missing out on Champions League football. A possibility of the Bianconeri receiving money plus Lukaku for the former Fiorentina man has been mooted, but they and Chelsea are reportedly some way apart on their respective valuations.
Chelsea's search for a new frontman has been accelerated by Nkunku picking up an injury in pre-season. Another of their attacking options, Armando Broja, is still yet to return from the long-term injury he suffered midway through last season.
One option for the Blues is Folarin Balogun. The American is understood to be open to a move to Stamford Bridge, but questions remain over Arsenal's asking price for a man with limited Premier League experience.
Another option with more experience of the competition is Brennan Johnson. Chelsea are one of a number of teams in the mix for the Welsh international, who scored eight league goals for Nottingham Forest last term.
"I said it after Liverpool and it is still the same, we are really excited about the squad we are building," Pochettino said after Chelsea's last game, a 3-1 loss at West Ham. "It is a defeat that is only going to make us stronger so we are able to perform better in the next games.
"Now we need to move on, there were many positive things. Not the result, but we will work really hard to win on Friday and get the performance that we want too."
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