Chelsea could be offered one of three Inter Milan players in exchange for Romelu Lukaku as the Italians look to strike a deal for the Belgian's return, say reports.
The striker suffered a frustrating first season back at Stamford Bridge and has been heavily linked with an immediate return to San Siro.
A dry loan is off the table, according to Gazzetta dello Sport, as the Blues won’t consider that option just a year after spending £97.5m on Lukaku.
With Inter unable to afford a permanent deal or a loan with the obligation to buy, the third way of getting a deal done could be through a player exchange.
The three names the newspaper gives for a possible swap are Lautaro Martinez, Milan Skriniar and Alessandro Bastoni.
The trio are all key men for Inter, but their differing values would mean that the terms of any such deal for Lukaku would likely change depending on who was involved.
Skriniar has established a reputation as one of the best centre-backs in Serie A since joining the Nerazzurri from Sampdoria in 2017, while his 23-year-old defensive partner Alessandro Bastoni is widely regarded as the best young defender in Italy.
Striker Martinez scored 21 goals in Serie A last season, a tally only bettered by Lazio’s Ciro Immobile and Dusan Vlahovic of Juventus.
He formed a deadly partnership with Lukaku during their time together at Inter, helping the club win their first Serie A title in 11 years in 2020/21.
