Fabrizio Romano has revealed what it will take for Chelsea to land Inter Milan striker Romelu Lukaku this summer.
What's the latest transfer news involving Lukaku?
It was reported on Tuesday that the Blues had a €100m (£85m) offer including Marcos Alonso rejected by the Serie A champions.
It is believed that they will return with an improved bid for the forward before the transfer window closes at the end of the month.
And Lukaku has now reportedly asked Inter Milan to accept any suitable offers that come in for him.
However, Romano - speaking before news of Lukaku's request bloke - claimed that it will take an extraordinary bid to convince Inter to sell this summer.
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What has Romano said about what Chelsea need to do to sign Lukaku?
Romano has confirmed that Inter did knock back Chelsea's initial approach, and he feels it will take something extraordinary for the Premier League outfit to convince their Italian counterparts to sell Lukaku in the coming weeks.
Speaking on The Here We Go Podcast, Romano stated: “Inter are not accepting €100m with Marcos Alonso. They want something really crazy for Romelu Lukaku because their plan is to keep the player at the club. Inter always said ‘he’s untouchable.’
“Marotta 10 days ago said: ‘he’s a key player for us, he’s untouchable. We have to continue with him.’ So now, if Chelsea want to sign Lukaku they need to do something crazy. The feeling around Inter is that Chelsea will try again, so they’re not finishing with this bid of €100m and Marcos Alonso.”
Should Chelsea do "something crazy" to bring Lukaku back to Stamford Bridge?
Lukaku appears to be in the form of his life at the moment, having scored 47 league goals in his last two campaigns at Inter. Therefore, it seems likely that he would strengthen Chelsea's attack if he did return to west London this summer.
However, Chelsea must also weigh up whether it is worth paying such a hefty fee for a player who turned 28 in May. Lukaku is the same age as Harry Kane, who has been heavily linked with a move to Manchester City, and it could be argued that both players may not have too many of their best years ahead of them.
Chelsea will need to consider this when deciding whether to do "something crazy" in their attempts to sign Lukaku.
Any cheaper alternatives for Chelsea?
Chelsea could look at a couple of different options if they decide against pushing ahead with a move for Lukaku.
Everton's Dominic Calvert-Lewin has been linked with a move to Real Madrid this summer, and he is valued at around the £50m mark by the Merseyside club.
He could be a comfortably cheaper option than Lukaku and is four years younger. Meanwhile, Chelsea may not have to spend at all if Thomas Tuchel changes his stance on Tammy Abraham. The 23-year-old fell out of favour under the German coach last term, and has been linked with a move away, but he did score 15 league goals in 2019/20 to show that he can produce the goods at the highest level.