Those who think the only reason Manchester City haven’t already been crowned EPL champions is because Harry Kane is yet to join should think again: Chelsea could be about to sign Romelu Lukaku.

You can argue the respective merits of the two strikers, but what can’t be disputed is that this would be a classic counter move worthy of a chess grandmaster.

And Lukaku would be a lot cheaper than the England captain.

Latest reports suggest Inter Milan are prepared to let the Belgian striker go for £100 million, having turned down the Blues’ initial offer of £80m.

Crucially, too, there is no apparent stumbling block in the way of a deal, Lukaku having fired Mino Raiola as his agent over the way he left Manchester United.

The big, 92kg force of nature also says he has “unfinished business” from an earlier stay at Stamford Bridge.

Inter need the cash, but so do Spurs who are asking for an awful lot more (£160m) for Kane.

And Spurs are run by the man who is widely considered to be the toughest negotiator in the business.

Daniel Levy almost drove Alex Ferguson to distraction when selling Dimitar Berbatov to United.

Fergie said of the experience: “Dealing with him was more painful than my hip replacement.”

In trying to get Kane, City should brace for spinal fusion surgery while having a root canal.

Wisely, they have kept their distance so far, having offered a flat £100m and then suggesting they might stretch to £130m.

To be lashing out such sums on a single player marks a sea change in City’s buying policy.

For all that they’ve spent on players (£750m since 2016), their club record fee – a miserly £63m on Ruben Dias – is the lowest of the Big Six clubs.

It’s all the more remarkable as they’re just about to complete a £100m deal for Jack Grealish from Aston Villa as well.

A sure sign of how confident City are about the future and in being able to fob off any pettifogging Financial Fair Play restrictions.

With both England internationals on board, it’s hard to see how anyone could challenge the champions this season.

But if Lukaku goes to Chelsea the Londoners could give Pep Guardiola’s men a run for their mega money.

Both the Belgian and Kane have just turned 28 and although Kane’s scoring record is more consistent, especially in the EPL, the Belgian has improved as his 47 goals in 72 games in Italy suggest.

He was only 18 when he first arrived in west London and if it didn’t quite work out at Old Trafford either, he enjoyed a prolific spell at Everton in between.

Chelsea’s move suggests a lack of faith in Timo Werner and a need to match City if a serious assault on the title is to be mounted.

It also shows that Roman Abramovich is still committed.

Having surprisingly allowed Sergio Aguero to leave, City have only Gabriel Jesus as a senior striker and the Brazilian hasn’t quite the conversion rate Guardiola demands.

Indeed, Jesus looks one of the more expendable players once the serious wheeling and dealing starts.

Of course, Levy doesn’t want to sell Kane. But faced with the best part of a £1 billion debt (for the new stadium), he really has to.

He may extract more from City than they want to give, but you feel the deal will go through eventually.

If Spurs fans dread the thought, selling your best player is not necessarily the white flag of surrender it is believed.

Their trepidation is understandable as they remember how the Gareth Bale money was frittered away on a job lot of journeymen with Christian Eriksen a notable exception.

But there are plenty of cases of clubs selling their superstars and going on to greater things in the following season.

The ultimate example is Barcelona, who after selling Ronaldinho in 2008, won an historic sextuple (including the Champions League and World Club Cup) the next season – Guardiola’s first.

Atletico Madrid won its first title in 18 years after selling Radamel Falcao while Liverpool won the Champions League the year after Michael Owen left.

It took two seasons for AC Milan to win Serie A after selling Kaka but they lost Paolo Maldini to retirement as well.

No one is expecting Spurs to achieve anything on that scale without their talisman.

But with Son Heung-Min signing for another four years and Argentine centreback Cristian Romero joining for £42m, all is not doom and gloom.

Nuno Espiritu Santo may not have been even on the long list of candidates for the manager’s job but he did an excellent job at Wolves.

If the two nine-figure strikers do end up going head-to-head, all eyes will be on them and the battle between the two richest clubs.

Thomas Tuchel did a superb job with Chelsea in the second half of last season and, with a powerhouse like Lukaku up front, many will fancy they can push on for the title.

United have noticeably strengthened while Liverpool will have their injured players back and don’t be surprised if there’s not another new face at Anfield.

But City will still be the team to beat especially if they end up with both Grealish and Kane.

And if Spurs want to know how to spend the windfall, Grealish’s former club, Villa, may be able to show them: with Emi Buendia, Leon Bailey and Danny Ings bought with the Grealish cash, they might even push Spurs for a place among the Big Six.

The views expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of FMT.