Chelsea face double blow as Thomas Tuchel told about priority transfer target

Chelsea have been told that their priority striker target, Romelu Lukaku, is not for sale this summer despite their renewed efforts to bring the Belgian back to Stamford Bridge. The Blues' second choice, Erling Haaland will also not be available with Borussia Dortmund not interested in selling him this summer.

Thomas Tuchel is keen to bring in a target man and had identified Lukaku as the club's number one target. Chelsea owner Roman Abramovic was ready to break the bank to bring the former Blues front man back to England, but Inter Milan have stood firm with regards to selling their top scorer from last season.

After initial approaches at the start of the summer, Chelsea have now gone in with a big money bid, which has been firmly rejected by the reigning Serie A champions. According to Italian transfer expert Fabrizio Romano, the reigning Champions League winners submitted a bid of around €100 million (£85m) plus Marcos Alonso, but Inter remain unfazed.

"Inter have received an approach from Chelsea for Romelu Lukaku. Bid around €100m including Marcos Alonso as part of the negotiation," Romano wrote. "Inter board turned down the proposal as they want to keep Lukaku - they've always considered Romelu as "untouchable".

Inter are struggling financially and need to offload players to balance their books. The sale of Achraf Hakimi in a £55 million deal to Paris Saint-Germain has given the club some reprieve, which could see them reject any further offers for Lukaku from Chelsea.

The Milan club's CEO Beppe Marotta made it clear that Lukaku is not for sale during a recent interview. They see the Belgium international as a key piece in their quest to retain the Serie A title they won last season.

"From our side, we can yes absolutely, Lukaku is not for sale. Lukaku is an important piece on the chessboard available to Simone Inzaghi," Marotta told Sportmediaset.

Coming to Chelsea's second choice Haaland, the Norwegian striker has also attracted a lot of interest from clubs in England and Spain. Dortmund, however, are in no mood to entertain offers for the Norwegian marksman, especially since they have already lost Jadon Sancho to Manchester United.

The Dortmund attacker is currently valued over €120 million (£102m), which makes him a very large financial investment for even the richest clubs across Europe. Moreover, the Norway international will be available for £68 million next summer owing to a clause in his contract, which is when multiple clubs including Chelsea are likely to make their move.