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The Ben Jacobs Chelsea column!
Chelsea are heading off to America and it’s a chance for Mauricio Pochettino to build some chemistry.
Chelsea’s last trip to the US was one of the most unsettling pre-season tours in recent memory. Then manager Thomas Tuchel was unhappy with the training pitches and too many players were mentally checked out. That’s why Pochettino is trying to only work with players who both want to be at Chelsea and, as importantly, the club wants to keep.
Romelu Lukaku isn’t one of those players. His first chat with Pochettino was to inform him he will turn up for any team meetings this week, but Chelsea’s response was to tell Lukaku to return on Tuesday, the day after the squad fly out. That says it all.
All summer Lukaku has been preparing for a move away. But in a big twist, Inter have seemingly pulled out the race despite recently preparing a new €35m offer.
Lukaku has indicated pretty consistently, and for quite some time, he wants to return to Inter. But Inter’s finances have made striking a deal difficult, so Lukaku began talking with Juventus. And that irritated Inter, who for now have withdrawn their interest and may turn their attention instead to Arsenal’s Folarin Balogun.
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