- Lukaku on course to join Roma permanently
- Transfer fee from Chelsea already agreed
- Belgian is rediscovering best form
WHAT HAPPENED? Chelsea could take a hit in excess of £60m by selling Romelu Lukaku to Roma next summer when his loan at the Serie A club comes to an end. The Blues paid what was then a club record £97.5m to re-sign Lukaku from Inter in the summer of 2021, but Fabrizio Romano has reported that the fee to offload him permanently to Roma has been set between the clubs at £37m.
THE BIGGER PICTURE: Lukaku managed only eight Premier League goals for Chelsea during the 2021/22 season, while he rubbed the club and fans up the wrong way by giving an interview to Sky Italia in which he admitted he was not "not happy" and expressed desire to return to Inter. He did go back to the club on loan for 2022/23, but that deal was not made permanent. Since joining Roma on loan and reuniting with Jose Mourinho, Lukaku has scored seven goals in eight appearances in all competitions.
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WHAT NEXT FOR LUKAKU? The 30-year-old has another eight months left on his current loan deal and will hope to finish the season by going over 20 goals for the first time since the 2020/21 campaign in his first spell with Inter.