Mauricio Pochettino: 'No change in Romelu Lukaku situation at Chelsea'

Head coach Mauricio Pochettino has reiterated that he is yet to hold a conversation with Chelsea forward Romelu Lukaku.

To coincide with Pochettino's arrival at Stamford Bridge earlier this summer, Lukaku made his return to his parent club after a loan spell with Inter Milan.

With the Belgium international making his first appearance at the club's training ground after the Premier League outfit had travelled to the USA for a pre-season tour, there was not a time for Pochettino to speak with the player.

Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital had initially hoped to have parted ways with Lukaku before Pochettino and his squad returned from their time Stateside.

However, with Inter, Juventus and clubs in Saudi Arabia not managing to reach an agreement over the 30-year-old, he remains at Chelsea and out of favour.

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Earlier this week, it was claimed that there may be scope for Lukaku to be reintegrated into the senior setup with Chelsea struggling to attract suitable offers.

That suggestion came after Pochettino had spoken on several occasions to indicate that Lukaku would stay out of his plans in the long term.

Addressing the issue at a press conference on Thursday, Pochettino welcomed questions on Lukaku's future, but insisted that he had still not held discussions with the £97.5m signing from 2021.

The Argentine told reporters: "The situation didn't change. But like I always tell you, anything can happen. We do not know what will happen in the future, but at the moment, the situation didn't change.

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When pushed on whether he could have a similar impact on Lukaku as he has done with Raheem Sterling, Pochettino added: "The situation with the player that you are asking about is a situation that was really clear before we arrive here. But that was a wish between the club and the player to try to find a solution.

"At the moment, we are really relaxed. Nothing happen. If something change, we will inform, sure, but at the moment, nothing has changed."

Boehly and Clearlake Capital have previously rejected any loan offers out of hand, yet it was alleged earlier this week that Roma were considering putting forward such a proposal.

They may have to consider a change of stance should Lukaku still not attract a suitable bid in the days before the September 1 transfer deadline.