Chelsea are preparing an improved record-breaking bid for Romelu Lukaku after seeing an opening offer for the forward rejected by Inter Milan.
The west London side submitted an opening player-plus-cash offer of €100m (£85m) plus defender Marcos Alonso for the Belgium international, a bid that was turned down by the Italian champions.
Thomas Tuchel is determined to sign a leading centre-forward ahead of the new season however, and the Blues are set to return with an improved bid as they seek to re-sign former forward Lukaku.
Fabrizio Romano has revealed that Chelsea’s new bid will be worth around €120m-€130m (£102-£111m) a figure that will make Lukaku the most expensive player in Premier League history should a deal be agreed.
Chelsea are also prepared to offer the 28-year-old a huge annual salary worth €12m-per-season in a bid to persuade the forward to return to the Premier League.
Lukaku remains committed to Inter and has enjoyed the best period of his career since moving to Italy, becoming the fastest player in the club’s history to reach 50 goals in all competitions, before being named as Serie A’s Most Valuable Player following the Nerazzurri’s drought-breaking title success last season.
However, Inter need to reduce their wage bill to combat debts incurred as a result of the coronavirus pandemic and could be tempted by a huge offer from Stamford Bridge.
Lukaku signed for Chelsea as a teenager but made just 15 goalless appearances for the club, spending time on loan with West Brom and Everton before signing for the latter on a permanent basis in 2014.
