Transfer rumor roundup 7/6: Lukaku could have big domino effect

Here’s a roundup of the latest news and transfer rumors surrounding which players could be joining new teams in the coming months.

Thursday’s transfer news is spearheaded by what could be the start of a huge domino effect, as Sky Sports reports Manchester United have reached agreement on a £75 million fee for Everton’s Romelu Lukaku.

The 24-year-old had been strongly linked with a summer move to Chelsea, but with the Blues unable to secure his services thus far, it appears Man United have swooped ahead of them in the race for his signature.

Coming off a career-high 25 Premier League goals, Lukaku is an ideal replacement for Zlatan Ibrahimovic atop manager Jose Mourinho’s attack.

Of course, Lukaku was sold by Mourinho in 2014 after finding playing time hard to come by at Chelsea, but thanks to his significant development since then, as well as backing from super-agent Mino Raiola, who also represents Ibrahimovic, Paul Pogba and Henrikh Mkhitaryan, it appears a Lukaku-Mourinho reunion is increasingly likely.

In fact, the report suggests Lukaku could undergo a medical this week to be cleared to travel with United for their preseason tour in the United States.

Should that transpire, it’s believed the Red Devils would no longer be interested in Real Madrid’s Alvaro Morata.

Despite having a few bids rejected, it was thought Morata would eventually join United this summer, but The Sun reports Lukaku’s impending arrival could result in the Spaniard being targeted by Chelsea.

Morata was sold to Juventus in 2014 at the request of then-manager Antonio Conte, and although the Italian took his country’s national team job without ever coaching Morata, they could finally work together at Stamford Bridge.

Obviously, that would require Real Madrid to sell the academy product they bought back last summer, which, as Man United found out, won’t happen unless Chelsea meet Los Blancos’ hefty asking price.

Although Karim Benzema was preferred more often than not at center-forward this past season, Morata still registered 20 goals and six assists in 1,872 minutes across all competitions.

Chelsea’s search for a new striker comes after Diego Costa was told by Conte that he’s no longer in his plans.

While that revelation sparked serious links to China, the Daily Mail reports Costa’s former club, Atletico Madrid, are putting together an offer for the 28-year-old.

Now, should Costa move back to Madrid, he wouldn’t be able to play until January, as Atleti’s transfer ban was upheld earlier this summer, preventing them from fielding new players until 2018.

That would restrict Costa to solely training action during the first half of the upcoming campaign, which is a reality he’s reportedly prepared for despite the World Cup being next summer.

After leading Atleti to the 2013-14 La Liga title on the back of 27 goals, Costa has gone on to score 52 Premier League goals over the last three seasons.

Despite such prolific numbers, however, Atleti will reportedly refuse to offer more than £20 million to sign Costa.

Next: Wayne Rooney’s Everton return is a bad idea

In striker activity elsewhere in England, Manchester City’s Kelechi Iheanacho is close to a move to Leicester City, according to ESPN.

The 20-year-old fell out of favor after Gabriel Jesus arrived at the Etihad Stadium in January, forcing him to look for playing time elsewhere.

Iheanacho was thought to be nearing a switch to West Ham recently, but Man City’s reported insistence on a buy-back clause ended the Hammers’ pursuit.

Although it’s unclear whether Pep Guardiola is still adamant about having an opportunity to re-sign Iheanacho should he desire, Leicester are in talks to shell out £25 million for the Nigerian international.

In 1,278 minutes of Premier League action since joining City, Iheanacho has been credited with 12 goals and five assists.

His mooted acquisition comes after the Foxes confirmed their capture of former Sevilla midfielder Vicente Iborra on Thursday.

Another confirmed deal is Red Bull Leipzig’s signing of Jean-Kevin Augustin from Paris Saint-Germain.

The 20-year-old moves to Germany after getting few minutes since breaking into PSG’s first-team setup, but his considerable potential, which is evidenced by 24 goals for France’s youth teams, has reportedly garnered a €13 million transfer fee.