CHELSEA are on a £170million collision course with two of their most pricey and unsettled stars this summer.
A week of dramatic twists has thrown the futures of on-loan striker Romelu Lukaku and keeper Kepa Arrizabalaga up in the air.
Jose Mourinho’s sacking as Roma manager is set to trigger a domino effect that will tumble all the way from Italy’s capital to Stamford Bridge.
The Special One has worked with Lukaku three times in his career and seems to be the only boss who still has faith in the £97.5m Belgian ace.
A fee of around £37m was privately agreed between the Blues and Roma for a permanent deal at the end of the season.
But with Daniele De Rossi taking over the Serie A side, that agreement is in jeopardy — even though Lukaku has scored 14 goals for Roma this season.
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Lukaku, 30, is due back in London at the end of the campaign and will still have two more years left on his Blues contract.
It is a similar story for Kepa, who had hoped to make his loan move to Real Madrid a permanent one come June.
He even went public with his wish to stay in Spain beyond the summer.
SunSport revealed last week that Kepa, who cost Chelsea a world-record £72m for a keeper four and a half years ago, fears he will be shipped back to England after slipping down the pecking order under Real boss Carlo Ancelotti.
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Kepa, 29, will still have 12 months left on his Chelsea contract.
In his absence, the Blues have bought two goalkeepers to replace him, making it crowded between the sticks.
Between them, Kepa and Lukaku earn around £500,000 a week — posing a major financial headache for Chelsea’s chairman Todd Boehly and his sidekick Behdad Eghbali.
The pressure will be on sporting director Paul Winstanley to find alternative teams for both men next season because neither wants to come back.
Winstanley is Chelsea’s transfer specialist and heads up a committee that includes co-director Lawrence Stewart, Boehly, Eghbali and head coach Mauricio Pochettino.
The club is mindful that neither man wants to come back and play for Chelsea and they are also surplus to requirements.
There will be a need to get them off the wage bill to help stay within financial fair play limits.
Mourinho coached Lukaku at Chelsea, Manchester United and, most recently, at Roma.
Lukaku has not been at Chelsea for more than 18 months — spending the season before last on loan at Inter Milan.
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He was shipped out after publicly criticising then-Blues boss Thomas Tuchel during an unauthorised interview with Italian TV.
Ironically, Chelsea are craving a goalscoring striker, with Nicolas Jackson at the Africa Cup of Nations, Christopher Nkunku injured and Armando Broja still regaining sharpness following a long-term knee injury.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
