LUKING AT £21 M

Blues want loan fee and Sterling

year at Stamford Bridge. New Chelsea owner Todd Boehly will then crank up their interest in persuading City to sell Sterling.

The Premier League champions have been unable to agree a new deal with the England forward, and face the prospect of losing the 27-year-old for nothing when his current contract expires next year.

And although Sterling would then be free to realise his ambition of playing abroad, the prospect of returning to his London roots is also appealing.

Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel is a big fan of Sterling – and would welcome the departure of Lukaku.

The west London club would like to find an escape route for the 29-year-old Belgian first.

And Inter want the striker back after finishing last season in second place behind bitter rivals AC Milan.

Chelsea told Inter that it would cost them £21million to take Lukaku on loan for the season – just a year after they handed the Serie A giants £97.5m to re-sign their former player.

Inter’s initial offer of

£6m was dismissed immediately. But the lines of communication have remained open between the two clubs and both feel an agreement can be reached this weekend.

Inter are also in talks with Paris Saint-germain about selling £70m-rated Slovakian defender Milan Skriniar to the French club.

And that would secure the finance to sign Lukaku, who earns in excess of £300,000 a week. Boehly has been instrumental in negotiations with both Lukaku’s advisers and Inter.

The American is believed to have reservations about allowing the striker to leave Stamford

Bridge for a second time.

But it was made clear to him that keeping a player of his value at the club when it was clear he is no longer in Tuchel’s plans would be a bigger mistake.

Lukaku is also keen for an agreement to be sealed on the terms of his departure.

Starlet

He believes he was at his best in Italy and loves

Milan so much he still owns a house and an apartment in the city.

Chelsea are also considering a move for Barcelona starlet Alejandro Balde amid the Catalan giants’ interest in Marcos Alonso and Cesar Azpilicueta.

The Blues tried to sign the 18-year-old left-back (inset) a year ago but without success.

However, he is one of the names under consideration again this summer and Chelsea chiefs could well use Barca’s interest in their Spanish defenders to try to negotiate a deal for him.