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Opinion: Chelsea and Man United transfer fiasco can potentially lead to lengthy saga

Opinion: Chelsea and Man United transfer fiasco can potentially lead to lengthy saga

Following a perplexing Thursday morning where BBC Sport claimed that Manchester United had struck a £75m deal with Everton for striker Romelu Lukaku, then Sky Sports News suggesting otherwise, it now looks as if the whole saga is set to be flipped once again. Yahoo Sports have published a piece stating that, from their understanding, a deal may still on the cards to bring the Belgian striker back to reigning Premier League champions Chelsea, as the club prepare to hijack the deal from under Reds boss Jose Mourinho's nose.

The speculation has been a result of the 24-year-old’s club having a busy window under manager Ronald Koeman. Everton have brought in the likes of goalkeeper Jordan Pickford from Sunderland for £25m and rising, Michael Keane of Burnley for £24m and Ajax’s midfielder Davy Klassen for £22m, leaving many to presume that these dealings were to counter the inevitable fate that their star man will be moving on from the side.

The story has also been wrapped round the emergence of Wayne Rooney’s possible transfer back to his boyhood club at Goodison Park. This now seems imminent. The wage bill for the 31-year-old is topping £250,000-a-week, meaning the Merseyside club will be forking out a roundabout figure of £12m a year for the out-of-favour player. It has now come into fruition that this deal could be bargaining chip for the Red Devils to strike a move for Lukaku.

There is also the nagging prospect of Alvaro Morata’s next move. The 24-year-old is reportedly unhappy with his lack of game time at La Liga winners Real Madrid, and Blues boss Antonio Conte is keen on forming a reunion with the striker at Stamford Bridge. Likewise, Man United manager Mourinho is suggested to have his eye on the former Juventus player. Just this week, in fact, many sports outlets were claiming that a deal had been made under the table and that the Europa League champions were set unveil Morata today – but that hasn’t happened.

To top it all, Torino’s Andrea Belotti, another forward linked to both sides, has been told that he will not be leaving the Serie A club for anything less than his release clause of £87m.  But that figure is not too hefty a fee for a top six club’s potential 30-goal-a-season man in today’s current climate. Taking everything in account, it just looks like there are a number of parties leaking information with their own interests, only adding to the confusion. There is no immediate end in sight. One just hopes that the tussling of the trio from Man United and Chelsea doesn’t sprawl out into one huge, drawn-out saga. That would be considered wishful thinking at this stage, though.

Jacque Talbot (@jac_talbot)