Chelsea’s bid to replace Romelu Lukaku scuppered by Roman Abramovich

The Russian’s 19-year spell as Chelsea owner is coming to an end after the UK government selected Todd Boehly as the preferred bidder to take charge of the Blues.

The American billionaire’s consortium have agreed to pay around £4.25bn to take charge at Stamford Bridge but the damage of Abramovich’s sanctions have already been felt at the club.

While news of the takeover will be welcomed by Thomas Tuchel, the sanctions have created huge uncertainty over Chelsea’s future and it’s meant they’ve been unable to plan for next season.

The takeover should mean Chelsea can once more compete in the transfer market but many clubs have already lined up their targets and ESPN claim the Blues have lost out on Erling Haaland as a result.

The Norwegian superstar was Tuchel’s priority target last summer and Romelu Lukaku was only signed once it became apparent that Dortmund would not sell.

A £62m release clause in Haaland’s contract means he can be signed this summer without negotiating with Dortmund but the scramble to convince the striker has already started.

Manchester City have laid the groundwork to sign Haaland over a number of months and the uncertainty over Chelsea’s owners meant they could not advance in talks.

Despite Chelsea’s unsuccessful pursuit of Haaland, there remains uncertainity over Lukaku’s future.

The Belgian returned to Stamford Bridge for a fee of £97m from Inter Milan last summer but he’s lost his place in the starting XI to Kai Havertz and he fell out with Tuchel over Christmas following a controversial interview in which he suggested he disagreed with the German’s tactics.

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