Everton’s Romelu Lukaku summer move to Manchester United has caught plenty of people by surprise yesterday – not least Chelsea fans.
Chelsea were thought to be the prime team interested to re-sign the Toffees striker but it would appear United have now stolen a march on their Premier League rivals by reportedly agreeing a fee of £75 million.
This has forced Blues manager Antonio Conte into the market for an alternative before the news season kicks off.
Following his rather public falling out with Diego Costa last month, the Spain international is expected to leave Stamford Bridge this summer.
Per The Telegraph, it claimed the former Atletico Madrid man has started saying goodbye to his teammates and a return to the Spanish side appears to be edging closer – despite the Los Rojiblancos current transfer ban.
However, after Chelsea have missed out on the Belgian, the Blues boss would be leaving his attacking options a bit short if he fails to get a replacement before the Spaniard leaves.
And the same report by from the British tabloid suggests three potential targets the Blues will now consider to lead the line next season.
The first target per the report is Real Madrid’s Alvaro Morata. Before Manchester United’s pursuit of Lukaku started gathering serious momentum, the Spaniard was severally linked with a move to Old Trafford.
Now the Red Devils’ interest has died down, Chelsea boss could swoop in for the Los Blancos striker.
The Premier League champions second option is Arsenal and Chile forward Alexis Sanchez. The Gunners still stand firm on their word that they do now want to sell their Chilean – who is out of contract next year – to any EPL rival.
But I believe the west London club could put that resolve to the test by submitting a mouth-watering bid over the next few weeks.
Last man but not least is Torino’s forward Andrea Belotti. The Italian scoring beast bagged 26 Serie A goals last season and has subject of transfer to top European clubs.
Torino have placed him with a price tag of over €100m, though, which could potentially block a possible offer.
Nevertheless, Chelsea can enter the 2017/18 season with Michy Batshuayi as their only recognized striker.