LUK WHO’S BACK
CHELSEA GET THEIR MAN AS £97.5M ROM RETURNS AS CITY PREPARE TO TURN UP THE HEAT IN KANE CHASE
ROMELU LUKAKU returned to Chelsea last night in a £97.5million transfer from Inter Milan as Harry Kane moved closer to a record-breaking switch from Tottenham to Manchester City.
Belgium striker Lukaku is at Stamford Bridge for a second spell after agreeing a five-year deal with the European champions.
‘I’m happy and blessed to be back at this wonderful club,’ said Lukaku, who could make his second debut in tomorrow’s home clash with Crystal Palace.
‘It’s been a long journey for me. I came here as a kid who had a lot to learn, now I’m coming back with a lot of experience and more mature.
‘I supported Chelsea as a kid. The way the club is going fits my ambitions perfectly at 28 and just coming off winning Serie A. Hopefully we can have a lot of success together.’
A Chelsea statement read: ‘One of the most prolific strikers in European football, Lukaku has returned to the club he supported as a boy and where he has unfinished business, having been on our books between 2011 and 2014.’
The signing boosts the Blues’ chances of winning the Premier League for the first time in five years but City are expected to respond by increasing their offer to buy England captain Kane, winner of the top-flight’s Golden Boot on three occasions.
Champions City have just captured Three Lions midfielder Jack Grealish from Aston Villa for £100m – the biggest fee ever in a deal between two English clubs.
They have already had the offer of a similar amount for 28-year-old Kane rejected by Spurs and are reported to be willing to increase their bid to £127m after Sunday’s Premier League curtain-raiser at Tottenham.
But that is still unlikely to impress Spurs chairman Daniel Levy, who is reported to be holding out for £160m.
Lukaku’s arrival in west London increases pressure for City to get the deal done as he was a proven goalscorer with Everton and Manchester United and then scored 47 times in 72 Serie A matches for Inter.