Pizy

Just can't imagine us spending that much on a single position.

£200m on Lukaku & Mbappe. Totally buying this rumor...

I'll be sad to see him go for the great moments he brought us but won't shed a tear like I would if say, Hazard left. His antics both on the pitch and off were disgraceful at times. Won't miss him completely losing his head frequently during matches or angling a transfer away time and time again. Sometimes the positives can't outweigh the negatives. Replacing him with someone who can have the same goal production without all the baggage is best for the club. But we surely need more than one new forward. We can't enter a season back in the CL and with everyone around us getting far stronger with just Lukaku & Batshuayi. Would be suicide.

Cold-fucking-blooded from Antonio. Can you blame him after what Diego did in January? I can't. Surely multiple attacking signings are lined up already. I hope...

We aren't paying 100m for Lukaku, calm down. Plus, spending mega money on a 25 goal a season striker is a bit different that spending mega money on a fullback. Much easier to find them than top strikers.

The fucking incompetence! HAHAHAHAHA! Surely we have to go in, negotiate with Soton and sign him now, right? Player clearly wants to go and maybe they'll now accept a bit less just to get rid and be done with the situation so they can secure their own targets.

City are literally taking the piss if they sign Sanchez. Like really, what's the point with all of the attacking players they've already got? They'll already struggle to play all of the attackers they have. I'll be beyond annoyed if he goes there.

Have a feeling some people in this thread will be eating their words if Lukaku rejoins. Or heaven forbid he ends up at United instead and becomes José's #9 for the next 5 years.

Who do you suggest? There are a dozen midfielders who United could've signed that barely got any assists and barely scored any goals but they paid £90m for Pogba. For around the same money we get a player who adds so much more productivity and is around the same age. True, the fee is shocking but that's just the way it is now. We can look back in 5 years and say that Lukaku was a bargain if he continues scoring at the same pace as he has been in far worse teams than Chelsea. And why wouldn't he with much better players around him? Honestly, what does Diego Costa offer that Lukaku doesn't?

Seems like no one has a clue who that guy is. No reliable outlets reporting anything from what I can tell.

He's fat? Really? Built like a bloody tank!

Maybe they just want a striker who's basically a guarentee to get us 20+ goals per season, mate? Maybe it's not any more complicated than that. He's young, super durable, scores loads of goals, and will be very popular. He'll basically be to us what Harry Kane is to Spuds. A striker who loves the club and will do whatever it takes to succeed here.

4-2-4 formation with Lukaku and Morata up top & Hazard and Pedro/Willian flanking them. Could work well.

I really want both, tbh...

Like I mentioned in a previous post, would be great having a striker that's a huge aerial threat. Gives us a new dimension.

Is it a downgrade, though? More like a sideways move for me. Neither are great with the ball and both sometimes have trouble in tight areas when closed down. I think Diego's biggest positive for us is that he's clutch. Seems to frequently pop up at the right time with a very incisive goal. Lukaku is stronger, bigger, and much better in the air. Plus, and perhaps most importantly, he's never a liability with his temperament. Never gets injured and isn't a controversial person publicly. Like you say, there aren't really other options that would be any cheaper and even if we spent £80m or more on someone like Belotti you'd have to pray that he's the real deal and can cut it in a new country, much tougher league, and deal with all the pressure of being a mega expensive player. With Rom we know precisely what we're getting. He knows exactly how to play in the PL.

Just hope we don't go all powerful and strong players this summer. We also need players who are highly technical and elegant. So far our strongest linked have been Lukaku and Bakayoko who are all about physicality.

Don't get me wrong, I'd have him back here for sure. I'm just not sure how it would be possible for he and Diego to play together. If he went to the Manc's he'd be the main #9 assuming Zlatan is gone. Plus, he'd be paid ludicrous wages and get to team up with his best mate Pogba.

Absolutely zero chance they'd sell him, surely? Or that he would want to leave the best side in Italy where he's a huge part of them. Just sounds like a lazy media link after we missed out on Van Dijk.

I actually think that if he and his scummy agent are already talking to a club it'll be Man United. They'll be feeling burned by the Griezmann situation and desperate to make a big statement signing. I'm not 100% convinced we're after him with Costa still here.

He's sort of "trapped" here now, isn't he? He can't go back to Atleti and Chinese clubs would have to pay like £150m after the new foreign player tax was put into place. Have absolutely no clue what would happen if we signed Lukaku, though, since I can't see how the two of them play together.

Great post. As long as Conte gets his first choice targets I'll be happy. I do kind of hope we make at least 1 big signing early in the summer just to build a bit of buzz and set the tone. The fans will be elated if we send our rivals a statement of intent with a huge, star signing.

Of course it would be silly this early in the summer to be worried about the lack of concrete links or movement, but it seems like one by one everyone we've so far been linked with is going elsewhere. Bernardo Silva - gone to City Van Dijk - looks certain to go to Liverpool now James & Morata - strongly linked with United and PSG by reliable sources Tolisso - now strongly linked with Bayern Alexis - no chance at all Arse will sell to us I'd love to give our board the benefit of the doubt that they're lining things up in total secrecy, but based upon recent transfer windows it's hard to do. This can't be another summer where we bring in shite or wait until it's so late that we panic and buy Conte's 3rd or 4th choice targets.

Completely forgot about Renato Sanches. What happened to him? Just overhyped and not great, or what? He was as coveted as Mbappe last summer.

Xabi Alonso's replacement? Unless we offer significantly more money I can't see him turning down Bayern.