Aston Villa have reportedly joined the race to sign Chelsea striker Romelu Lukaku.
The Villans are planning an audacious swoop for the Belgian marksman, and Calciomercato reports that they are ‘pressing hard’ to secure his signature.
Lukaku returned to Chelsea after another fruitful spell away from Stamford Bridge.
Since falling out of favour in west London, the Belgium international has spent the past two seasons on loan at Inter Milan and AS Roma.
He bagged 21 goals and four assists in 47 games for Roma last season, but the Serie A giants couldn’t stump up the funds required to sign him permanently.
After two loan spells, Chelsea are determined to get Lukaku off their wage bill permanently this summer.
Napoli have emerged as his most likely landing spot, with new manager Antonio Conte eager to reunite with Lukaku in Naples.
However, negotiations between both clubs have stalled, with Napoli reluctant to match Chelsea’s asking price.
The Blues are reportedly demanding around £30 million to part ways with Lukaku, who has two years left on his contract at the Bridge.
Napoli chief Aurelio De Laurentiis wants to negotiate a lower fee, and both clubs have also explored the possibility of a swap deal, with Chelsea interested in Victor Osimhen.
Osimhen is open to joining Chelsea, but he doesn’t fancy a loan with an option to buy deal, which has frustrated both clubs’ efforts to reach an agreement.
Napoli were initially keen to sell Osimhen before signing Lukaku, but they’re pressing on with their plans to sign the Belgian, who has scored 394 career goals.
However, they could now face serious competition from Villa, who have joined the race to sign Lukaku and are pushing hard to agree a deal.
Villa want to bolster their attacking options as they prepare for Champions League football, and Ollie Watkins is the only reliable striker in the squad.
Highly rated Colombian striker Jhon Duran is admired by West Ham United and Chelsea, although both clubs have cooled their interest.
It remains to be seen if Villa will act on their reported interest or if the development is just a ruse to get Napoli to speed up their efforts to sign the striker.
Stats from Transfermarkt.com
