Chelsea are reportedly open to negotiating a swap deal involving Romelu Lukaku and Inter Milan defender Milan Skriniar.
For a number of weeks, it has been widely claimed that Lukaku is pushing for a return to San Siro, less than 12 months since arriving at Stamford Bridge for a club-record fee.
As well as not fitting into Tuchel's style of play, the 29-year-old was only able to deliver 15 goals from his 44 appearances in all competitions.
However, Inter are in no position to sign the Belgium international on a permanent deal, leaving the relevant parties to discuss what could be a complex arrangement.
In recent days, the suggestion is that officials from Chelsea and Inter, as well as Lukaku's representatives, have held talks over finding a positive outcome.
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The general consensus is that a compromise will be met over a loan fee that will be paid by Inter, with the player happy to take a wage cut in order to help facilitate a transfer.
Nevertheless, according to the Daily Mail, Chelsea hold an interest in Skriniar and are happy to discuss the possibility of a player-exchange deal.
Despite his status as a key figure in the middle of the defence, the Slovakia international has just 12 months remaining on his contract with the Italian giants.
That has inevitably led to admirers emerging from elsewhere, most notably from Paris Saint-Germain who are allegedly prepared to pay a significant sum for the centre-back.
As it stands, the Ligue 1 giants have failed with their most recent approach, leaving the door open for Chelsea to present their own case for the 27-year-old.
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Although the West Londoners are known to want to sign Jules Kounde from Sevilla, head coach Thomas Tuchel needs to replace each of Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen.
Skriniar is said to be content with life at Inter, but his club will also not want to risk a big asset departing on a free transfer in 2023 when they need to improve their financial position.
If the deals were to be conducted separately, Lukaku would cost well in excess of Skriniar given his current contract situation, but a straight swap appears to have value for all parties involved.
While Stefan de Vrij finds himself in the same situation as Skriniar, fellow Inter centre-back Alessandro Bastoni appears to be the only player out of three who is definitely staying with his current club.
Darren Plant
