Yahoo Sport 
Gossip: Lukaku could snub Chelsea for Man United, Arsenal and Spurs 'battle' for Barkley, Rodriguez and Nainggolan latest plus more
Following months of mind-numbingly repetitive transfer speculation, at this point pretty much everyone agrees that Chelsea will sell Diego Costa in the summer and replace him with Romelu Lukaku.
But there’s a problem, because the summer is not yet here, and this saga needs to sustain itself for at least another few weeks or else tabloid sales could drop and Rebekah Brooks would get unhappy, which is a terrifying prospect for anyone who sits near her at work.
Therefore, what this story needs is a twist – it’s basic narrative structure. And the Sun, thankfully, has provided one. The red-top reports today that Lukaku “could REJECT” Chelsea and sign for Manchester United instead. Wow!
Under the unarguably inappropriate headline, “Lukking Hell”, the Sun explains that the Everton striker is getting cold feet about a move to Stamford Bridge because he is “concerned by Antonio Conte’s tactics”.
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The Belgian “does not want to be lumbered with extra defensive responsibilities” by Conte and is “keen on playing under Jose Mourinho”, because he’s such an attack-minded free spirit.
In fact, as plot twists go, this one is about as uninspired as Ross Kemp’s latest EastEnders comeback, especially when the Sun admits at the bottom of the article that United are prioritising the signings of Antoine Griezmann and Sergio Aguero.
But all that matters is some very gullible people out there believe it, and in the Sun’s case that comprises about 97 per cent of the readership.
Fanning these flames further is the Daily Star, which claims that Chelsea have “agreed a deal” to sign Real Madrid striker Alvaro Morata. The Spaniard reportedly held talks with “several European clubs” but the Bridge “is his destination of choice”.
Which adds a new layer of intrigue to the Lukaku twist, until the Star ruins its own story a few hours later by publishing another article stating that Morata “wants to stay at Real Madrid”.
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Chelsea are also still pursuing a couple of other long-term targets in Roma duo Radja Nainggolan and Antonio Rudiger, according to the Sun, which says the Blues are “weighing up” a £70m bid for the pair.
The Mirror says Manchester City are also interested in Rudiger, as well as Juventus’ Leonardo Bonucci and essentially anyone else who has shown an aptitude for defending in recent times.
City are among several clubs sniffing around Sunderland goalkeeper Jordan Pickford now that the Black Cats have gone down. The Telegraph says Arsenal, Everton, Man Utd, Liverpool and West Ham are also “keeping a close eye” on the 23-year-old and believe an offer of £25m plus add-ons “will be too tempting to resist” for the Wearsiders.
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Elsewhere, Arsenal have joined Tottenham in the race to sign Everton’s Ross Barley IF the midfielder doesn’t sign a new Goodison Park deal (Mail), Gunners flop Lucas Perez is open to a return to Deportivo la Coruna (Mail) and Real Madrid playmaker James Rodriguez could move to Man Utd for £50m (Mirror). That story could do with a twist soon, to be fair.
