Attorney Ledure in conversation with the Blues: official negotiations begin, Nerazzurri ready to offer over 30 million plus bonuses. The time factor is decisive
Optimism, growing as these hotter hours pass. But caution too, because the match is delicate and Chelsea are an unpredictable club, in constant turmoil since they changed ownership last summer. I’m still the Blues to give the cards because since 1 July they have been the owners of the centre-forward’s card pulled by the jacket between Milan and London. But all with a certainty that comes directly from Romelu Lukaku, the man at the center of this transfer market dispute: “I only want Inter”, he says, repeats, flaunts the fearless Belgian. Those close to him have always known this and share these long days of waiting with him. Romelu reiterated this to the Nerazzurri and the words were honey for Zhang’s club, which is trying to find the most “sustainable” way to permanently embark him on board. The fact that the pact of steel between him and the company still holds helps to nourish hope. And, by extension, he also said it to the Blueswho yesterday officially had the first official contact with theentourage from the centre-forward: not just any phone call, not a preliminary inspection, but the official go-ahead for a real negotiation ready to take off. After an initial offer deemed low by Chelsea, Inter will send a robust raise in the next few days: the 30 million for the definitive purchase will be largely broken through with the addition of bonuses. Maybe it won’t be the decisive step, but it will certainly be an acceleration.
The situation
—
The cork is blown because the lawyer Sebastien Ledure, Romelu’s trusted lawyer, directed by Rock Nation, Jay Z’s agency which looks after the interests of the Belgian and which has a strategic importance in this affair, has listened to the reasons of the British. At the same time he also presented the player’s point of view, determined to keep the point on an issue that has to do with his life project and not just with his profession. In short, it is increasingly clear that Lukaku only sees the Nerazzurri. That’s why tomorrow he won’t be in the Cobham retreat where in theory his old teammates would be waiting for him for the first day of work of the 2023-24 season. “I expect you to come to my office…”, Mauricio Pochettino had said slyly, but they were tactical words, prompted by London society to flush out the prey. With such a blatant negotiation, it is reasonable for the player to avoid a new London passage, also because the chances of Rom remaining in London have long since been reduced to zero. Sure, the Belgian can’t wait forever for his beloved Inter, but for now he’s keeping the trenches, also because he knows that times can’t go on for too long.
Break the numbness
—
THE Blues they would certainly have preferred to hear other words. From their point of view, an opening on the Arab trail would not have been amiss given that the highest offer came from Al-Hilal, a round 50 million, and never pulled off the table. At the moment Lukaku does not want to follow the fashion of the moment and expects to play at the highest level in European football. If the “no thanks” to the emirs were not enough, who according to some sources would fill him with a salary of 30 a year, the Belgian also made it known that he is currently considering other proposals in Europe other than Inter. No official Juve card has ever reached his table in the slightest, and in any case it would not be taken into consideration in the slightest, while Milan’s approach towards him was real, but even in that case it clashed with the iron will of the player. The Belgian is supported by the imminence of the Nerazzurri relaunch that will shake his torpor and also an awareness that circulates in his environment: Chelsea’s initial request, 45 in order not to make a capital loss, could immediately drop to 40 without drama. In any case, a reciprocal effort will still be needed to get closer, perhaps halfway, and the famous “bonuses” will play an important part: in fact, Inter thinks they can use Rom as a weapon for new victories and for this reason they would be ready to tie successes to rather rich prizes for the British. In any case, however, the time factor will be decisive: it is necessary to avoid going beyond a week in order not to stiffen the Blues, as they enter the highlight of the preparation with Pochettino. Inter, rapacious in terms of timing for the Thuram-Frattesi duo, doesn’t want to be outdone for their Belgian totem.
© REPRODUCTION RESERVED