Aston Villa are reportedly looking to do more business with Premier League rivals Chelsea this summer.
Unai Emery has already recruited Ian Maatsen from Chelsea, while Aston Villa also tried to sign Conor Gallagher.
There has been movement the other way, too, with Omari Kellyman leaving Villa Park for Stamford Bridge.
The attacking midfielder did not get the chance to play in any of Chelsea’s pre-season games in the United States, though, because of injury.
Chelsea and Villa clearly have a good relationship, and they may not be done doing business with each other during this transfer window.
Romelu Lukaku of AS Roma smiles after the Serie A TIM match between AS Roma and Genoa CFC at Stadio Olimpico on May 19, 2024 in Rome, Italy.
Aston Villa interested in Romelu Lukaku
Romelu Lukaku has been heavily linked with a move to Napoli all summer, but he remains on the market with the Serie A club yet to agree a deal with Chelsea.
It is good news for Villa, who are said to be interested in the striker. In fact, according to Calciomercato, they are pushing hard to sign him.
The outlet claims that Chelsea value Lukaku at €35m (£30m) and that Napoli have to speed things up because of Villa’s presence.
The risk of selling Romelu Lukaku to Aston Villa
Chelsea definitely need to offload Lukaku before the transfer window closes if they have no plans to use him.
The Belgian earns a whopping £325,000 a week at Chelsea, according to Spotrac. That is just too much money for a player who has not been part of the first-team squad these past two seasons.
That being said, selling to Villa could easily backfire. The Villans already finished above Chelsea last season and have a top striker in Ollie Watkins. Handing them another quality one like Lukaku will do Enzo Maresca‘s side no favours in the new campaign.
If Villa are the only club who are willing to pay the money for the Belgium international, though, then it is something that the Chelsea owners are obviously going to have to consider.