Tottenham Hotspur 'hold talks over potential Romelu Lukaku deal'

Tottenham Hotspur have reportedly held 'preliminary contacts' over a potential deal for Chelsea forward Romelu Lukaku before the end of the summer transfer window.

The Belgium international is back at Stamford Bridge following a loan spell at Inter Milan, but he is not in the plans of Blues head coach Mauricio Pochettino.

Inter were said to be in talks over a permanent return for the 30-year-old before allegedly dropping their interest after learning that he had also been speaking to Juventus.

There is also thought to be Saudi Arabian interest in the Belgian, who has another three years left to run on his contract with Chelsea.

According to Calciomercato, there have been 'preliminary contacts' between Tottenham and Lukaku's camp to discuss a potential move to the North London club before the end of the transfer market.

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The report claims that Chelsea are willing to let the striker leave for around £38.5m, but he would want a salary of around £9.2m net per season at any potential new club.

Tottenham are in the market for a new forward before the end of the transfer window, having allowed Harry Kane to make a big-money switch to Bayern Munich last weekend.

Lukaku initially moved to Chelsea from Anderlecht in 2011, but he failed to score in 15 appearances for the Blues during his first spell at the club.

The Belgian eventually moved to Everton on a permanent basis and then represented Manchester United and Inter before returning to Chelsea in a big-money deal in the summer of 2021.

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The forward only managed 15 goals in all competitions for the capital outfit during the 2021-22 campaign, though, and he returned to Inter on loan for last season, netting 14 goals in 37 appearances.

Pochettino has said that both the club and Lukaku are to blame for the stand-off that currently exists, with the forward not even being given a squad number for this season.

"It's two sides," said the new Chelsea head coach. "You cannot put it only on the club, the situation. It's both sides. The situation is where it is because of two sides.

"It's like when you have a player in or a player out. It's because both sides arrive to an agreement."

Lukaku's Premier League record is likely to be attractive to Tottenham, with the striker scoring 121 goals and registering 43 assists in 278 appearances in the top flight of English football.