Report: Juve reject Chelsea’s first bid in proposed Vlahovic-Lukaku swap deal

Over the past 48 hours or so, one of the biggest talking points surrounding the rumored Dusan Vlahovic-Romelu Lukaku swap deal is just how much money it would take on top of signing the big Belgian to actually make things go through. Would it be €40 million? Would it be €50 million? What would it take for Juventus to give the green light and essentially turn things over to Vlahovic to decide if he stays in Turin or shops for a place to live in London.

Let’s just say Chelsea’s first reported offer is nowhere near that.

Not by a long shot.

According to Italian transfer reporter Nicolo Schira late Thursday night, Juventus have rejected Chelsea’s first bid to make the striker swap deal happen. We know the two players involved, but when it comes to the money that’s another story, with Chelsea reportedly offering €20 million (!!!) — which Cristiano Giuntoli and Co. rejected (and hopefully did so a split-second after they first heard the amount of money. Schira reports that the two sides will discuss the deal again in the coming days, with an agreement on a fee the end goal.

While it has been widely reported that Lukaku has agreed to terms on a three-year deal with Juventus, the same can’t be said for Vlahovic and Chelsea, with the big Serb’s reluctance to leave being one of the big hurdles still left to clear.

As you can see, Chelsea have submitted a bid to not only get Vlahovic on the cheap, but do so in a manner that would be complete highway robbery with how low the player-plush-cash offer was. Like, this is really a deal that’s Lukaku and €20 million ... seriously? Nah, nah, nah. We ain’t playing that kind of game.

There’s also the willingness of Vlahovic to accept a move to Chelsea after the Blues reportedly pulled their interest in him earlier this summer only to re-engage a week or so ago since their only chance to get rid of Lukaku — outside of him even considering a mega offer from Saudi Arabia — is a swap deal with Juve. If his goal celebration against Real Madrid is any clue as to what he wants or who the true No. 9 at Juventus currently is, Vlahovic wants to stay with the Bianconeri and prove his worth despite his reported dislike of Max Allegri’s choice of tactics.

One thing is for sure, though: Chelsea offering €20 million to go along with Lukaku ain’t going to cut it. Not one bit. So now we wait to see what the next offer entails — and hopefully it doesn’t involve Juventus budging from wanting a big amount of money even if Lukaku does arrive this summer.