Inter fail with Lukaku bid but near Onana deal with United for initial €50m
Internazionale’s €30m (£25.7m) bid for Romelu Lukaku is regarded as insufficient by Chelsea but talks will continue to see whether a deal can be reached. Lukaku spent last season on loan at Inter and has rejected overtures from Saudi Arabia in the hope of continuing his career in Europe.
Inter’s coach, Simone Inzaghi, spoke this week about his desire to bring back Lukaku, who scored 14 goals in 37 club appearances last season. Lukaku joined Chelsea from Inter for €115m in August 2021 before returning on loan after an underwhelming season and Chelsea must decide how much of a loss they are willing to make.
On Thursday Christian Pulisic completed his move to Milan for a fraction of the fee Chelsea paid to buy him from Borussia Dortmund in 2019. Lukaku is due to report for pre-season on Monday at Chelsea, who believe two more clubs are willing to enter the race for the 30year-old.
Manchester United have submitted their final proposal for Inter’s André Onana, with the clubs close to agreeing a deal worth an initial €50m, with €5m in add-ons. After tense negotiations, it now seems likely a deal will be done, with only the structure of the payments yet to be decided.
Should the deal be confirmed, the goalkeeper will link up again with manager Erik ten Hag, who coached him at Ajax. United want to make Onana their No 1 after allowing David de Gea to depart at the end of his contract.
Everton are in discussions with United over a deal to buy the forward Anthony Elanga. A number of clubs are interested in the Sweden international but Everton are favourites to sign Elanga, who played no part in United’s friendly win over Leeds in Oslo on Wednesday.
Everton have completed the free signing of Ashley Young on a one-year deal after his release by Aston Villa. The 38-year-old said: “I’ve always said age is just a number for me. I feel as fit as I ever have done – even than when I was younger. Whenever the manager calls upon me, I’m going to be fit and ready to go.”