The Romelu Lukaku to Chelsea rumour does not seem to be going away. The powerful Belgian forward had a stellar season last year for Everton and that seems to have caught the eye of his former employers as they look to return themselves to the top four at the very least.

New manager Antonio Conte has already bought in N'golo Kante and Michy Batshuayi as he aims to transform the club's fortunes and it's believed now that Batshuayi's compatriot is next on his shopping list.

Should any deal go through largely depends on whether Chelsea are willing to fork out a sizeable amount for a player that they let go not too long ago. It could be a potential deal that leaves the Blues with a large hole in their pocket and Conte might just be wiser to go for someone else.

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So in that spirit, here are SEVEN Romelu Lukaku alternatives Antonio Conte might consider...

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Alexandre Lacazette

Lacazette1

With Arsenal continuing to flounder on this deal despite the persistent links Chelsea might just try and blow them out of the water. They have the financial clout to get a move sorted quickly and would certainly relish getting one over the Gunners this early on in the season. Lacazette would also be different to what the club have up front at the moment and this should be seen as a good thing.

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Paco Alcacer

Paco Alcacer (Valencia)

Alcacer is being linked with Barcelona and whilst that's going to be an attractive offer, who's to say he'd actually play for the Catalans. Big things are expected of the Valencia man and Chelsea might be able to convince him with the offer of regular playing opportunities with compatriot Diego Costa. On paper Alcacer and Costa makes for exciting reading especially given Conte's tendency to like playing two strikers.

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Lorenzo Insigne

Football Soccer - Germany v Italy - EURO 2016 - Quarter Final - Stade de Bordeaux, Bordeaux, France - 2/7/16
Italy's Lorenzo Insigne 
REUTERS/Michael Dalder
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Conte will know Insigne from the Italian national set up as well as his Serie A background and this could increase the likelihood of a bid being accepted. The Napoli man is quick off the mark, something Chelsea need going forward and after seeing his side sell Gonzalo Higuain he may be thinking it's time to move himself. He's also soon to enter his prime age too which only makes him a more attractive target.

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Sofiane Boufal

Sofiane Boufal TWITTER

Chelsea don't need Romelu Lukaku. They've got two perfectly good centre forwards and so really if they want to spend money on their front-line they should be looking at someone like Boufal instead. The young Lille forward can play down either flank and is fast becoming one of the hottest properties in Europe, it'll be a sign of Chelsea's ability to still attract the best if they can nab him.

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Karim Benzema

Benzema

Benzema could see his position under threat this season. Cristiano Ronaldo looks to be an out and out striker now whilst Real Madrid have also decided to keep Alvaro Morata on instead of letting him go out on loan. The Frenchman is still a top striker though and if Chelsea do want another player to go down the middle they might as well do it properly and get this guy instead of Lukaku.

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Luuk de Jong

Siem De Jong

De Jong scored 26 goals for PSV last season in the Eredivisie, bettered only by Vincent Janssen who is now at Tottenham. He'd command a far cheaper fee than Romelu Lukaku and would also likely be more open to rotating with Batshuayi to partner Costa up front than the Belgian. It's a bit of a left field move in the offing, but could pay dividends for the Blues.

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Mario Gomez

Football Soccer - Northern Ireland v Germany - EURO 2016 - Group C - Parc des Princes, Paris, France - 21/6/16
Germany's Mario Gomez 
REUTERS/Christian Hartmann
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Gomez is a proven international goal-scorer and has played at the very highest club level too. He's of a similar playing style to Lukaku but would cost much less than the Everton man and this makes him a decent prospect. He may not be one for the long term future but with the young Batshuayi at the club the Blues don't really need another youthful forward, they just need someone to chip in with goals and Gomez would do this.

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