A sensational report out of Italy claims that new Chelsea boss Graham Potter’s priority in the transfer market would be to buy Harry Kane from Tottenham Hotspur.
Perhaps even more sensational, but also logical given that Antonio Conte is Tottenham’s boss, is the claim within the report that Serie A star Romelu Lukaku, on loan to Inter Milan from Chelsea, would be part of the makeweight.
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Wait, what?
The hang-up, according to Calcio Mercato, is that Inter reportedly has an option to extend Lukaku’s loan by a year.
Let’s dig into the juiciness as this international break waits to give us more, you know, actual football.
Harry Kane to Chelsea: Why it won’t, but could, happen
Let’s start here: Harry Kane is going to cost someone a boatload of money in the market, and you’d be crazy to think Tottenham wouldn’t add a massive inconvenience fee if the destination had to be hated London rivals Chelsea.
Even though Todd Boehly’s been willing to splash all kinds of cash to show that the Blues aren’t going to become an afterthought now that Roman Abramovich is gone, the cost would have to be eclipse what Chelsea played Manchester City for Raheem Sterling. Yes, Sterling is younger than Kane but the latter is England’s captain.
That said, the injured Lukaku is just over a year removed from having a monstrous year under Conte as Inter broke Juventus’ long hold on scudetti.
Lukaku, who turned 29 in May, posted 34- and 28-goal seasons for Inter before going to Chelsea for a ho-hum 13 last season. He has a goal and an assist in three appearances since going on loan to Inter.
Kane is two months younger than Lukaku and a more proven Premier League commodity, a player threatening to chase down Alan Shearer and Wayne Rooney in order to score the most goals in league history.
He’s scored 20+ Premier League goals in five different seasons and has bagged six goals in seven games this season. He scored 27 with 10 assists across all competitions last season.
Conte is the wild card here. He holds immense power at Tottenham and could get the move closer to the line if he (and director Fabio Paratici) desperately wanted Lukaku as the piece to push Tottenham to the brink of title glory.
All that said, to see Lukaku hit a third piece of the Big Six, like Sterling before him, would be a truly captivating story line.