Chelsea are ‘losing patience with Romelu Lukaku’ with the striker unwilling to move to Saudi Arabia – despite £43m interest from Al-Hilal – and instead keen to stay in Europe

Chelsea are beginning to ‘lose patience’ with Romelu Lukaku, as the striker remains resistant to interest from Saudi Arabia.

Lukaku is currently training at Cobham after returning to the Blues following a year on loan at Inter Milan.

However, new boss Mauricio Pochettino all but confirmed he will not remain at the club past the summer after leaving him out of the Blues’ pre-season tour of America.

The 30-year-old had been expected to rejoin Inter, but he is thought to be keener on joining Juventus.

Lukaku is said to have snubbed Simone Inzaghi’s side after being benched for the Champions League final last season.

Chelsea are ‘losing patience’ with Romelu Lukaku’s reluctance to move to Saudi Arabia

New Blues’ boss Mauricio Pochettino did not include the striker in the club’s pre-season tour of America

He appeared to deny this on Twitter, cryptically posting: ‘When that hate don’t work, they start telling lies.’

According to Gazzetta dello Sport, Saudi side Al-Hilal have also tabled a £43 million bid for the striker, which he is resisting to Chelsea’s annoyance.

They are keen to resolve Lukaku’s future as soon as possible, and would rather he accepted the deal on the table.

Juve do remain interested in the Belgium international, but only if they lose main striker Dusan Vlahovic.

He has been linked with Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain, but it not yet clear if a deal will be agreed before the window closes in six weeks time. 

One major stumbling block for Lukaku is that some Juventus’ supporters are not keen on the Belgian forward.

Juventus remain keen on Lukaku, but only if current striker Dusan Vlahovic leaves the club

A large group of fans gathered behind a barrier at the club’s medical centre last week to make their feelings on the striker clear, chanting ‘we don’t want Lukaku.’

Wherever he ends up, the 30-year-old remains an effective striker at the top level and could make a big difference next season.

He scored 14 goals in 37 games for Inter last season, and scored 30 across all competitions in a Scudetto winning campaign in 2020-21.