Inter walk away from Romelu Lukaku talks with Chelsea

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Inter walk away from Romelu Lukaku talks with Chelsea

Inter have informed Chelsea that they no longer wish to pursue the signing of striker Romelu Lukaku, 90min understands.

The two clubs spent months negotiating in the hope of seeing Lukaku return to Inter on a permanent basis and an agreement was close to being struck before talks completely collapsed on Friday evening.

A large part of Inter's willingness to keep negotiating with Chelsea was their belief that Lukaku was only focused on joining them. The Belgian has already rebuffed advances from Saudi Arabia and told Inter that a return to San Siro was the only thing on his mind.

However, Inter officials now believe that Lukaku and his entourage have held talks with other clubs, including fierce rivals Juventus, over a possible summer transfer.

While such conversations are legal and standard at this stage of negotiations, Inter have been left disappointed by the situation as they believed Lukaku's only interest was returning to the Nerazzurri - a message which sources insist came from the player himself.

As a result, Inter have informed Chelsea that they no longer wish to pursue Lukaku and have walked away from talks.

Chelsea had initially scheduled Lukaku's pre-season return for last week but pushed that date back until Monday in the hope that a deal to sell the striker would have been struck before he even needed to come back.

Now, however, Lukaku is expected back at Cobham on Monday, although Chelsea currently have no plans to take the Belgian with them on their pre-season tour of the United States.

Instead, Lukaku is exploring all his options. Juventus have discussed a summer deal, while the offers from Saudi Arabia have never been withdrawn despite the Belgian's initial reluctance to listen to the proposals.

Sources at Chelsea still believe that Inter could reignite their interest if their relationship with Lukaku can be rebuilt, although that currently looks unlikely.