Chelsea Show Their Hand In Lukaku Transfer Saga

24 hours ago it looked as if Manchester United would finally move a step closer in regards to completing a marquee signing this summer but now it looks as if they are going to have to take two steps back as Chelsea have finally played their hand in the race to sign Romelu Lukaku from Everton.

It is fair to say that there was an element of surprise yesterday when the news first broke that United had tabled a bid for the Belgian forward, one that was to the tune of £75m. At that point it looked as if the Premier League champions had been caught cold and Jose Mourinho had got one over his former employers.

But a day in football especially in a transfer window can be a very long time and Chelsea have certainly put the cat among the pigeons as they have now also tabled a £75m bid of their own and it is something that could massively derail any potential deal to bring Lukaku to Old Trafford.

Chelsea were obviously caught napping yesterday and many were wondering whether or not they would prepare an offer of their own especially as United boss Mourinho was hoping that the deal would be concluded by the end of this week.

That obviously meant that the West Londoners had to act fast and that is exactly what they have done, with two bids of the same value it now means that the choice could obviously boil down to the player as to where he calls home next season.

I say could because another factor in all of this is the fact that Chelsea are not prepared to pay the agent fees that are being asked by ‘Super Agent’ Mario Ranola. If the Everton forward moves to Old Trafford then it would also be beneficial for the Italian, so do not be surprised if he has a little word in his ear.

If Lukaku was to pick Chelsea instead of Manchester United then the Red Devils would possibly have a backup plan in the shape of Alvaro Morata but for them it would mean them working even further down the list in terms of the summer transfer targets.

They have been rebuffed by the likes of Gareth Bale, Harry Kane and Antoine Griezmann while any possible interest in Cristiano Ronaldo after his tax saga has never really got off of the ground, in short it has been an incredibly frustrating transfer window for the club as far.

From a pure footballing point of view you would arguably pick Chelsea after their Premier League title success last season but from a history angle then a move to Manchester United would definitely be the more pertinent choice, this ultimately is the question is it a look to the past or a look to the future.

Of course there is also the fact that Lukaku has worn the colours of Chelsea before – albeit a handful of times, perhaps now he feels that it is time to return ‘home’ to Stamford Bridge and really show his worth at the club after only being used sparingly in his stint at the club.

Then of course there is the chance to once again link up with Jose Mourinho, again they probably didn’t work with each other as much as they wanted to but perhaps the two time Champions League winning manager feels this is the perfect time to finally link up.

Ultimately there are decisions that go either way for either Chelsea and Manchester United and the other factor is of course wages but in all honesty the size of these two clubs’ financial muscle means that they can pretty much nullify each other in that aspect.

It may resemble something of a cold war in the race to acquire the services of Romelu Lukaku but now it looks like it is really heating up. Red or Blue, Manchester or London, Warehouse Project or Fabric, Blur or Oasis just which one will the Everton talisman choose. We’ll find out soon enoiugh