Chelsea agree €115m fee with Inter for Romelu Lukaku
Chelsea have agreed a €115m fee with Inter for the transfer of Romelu Lukaku, 90min understands.
The Belgium international had asked Inter to be omitted from their matchday squad for a friendly against Parma on Sunday in order to seal a return to Stamford Bridge.
A reunion now looks to be on the horizon, as 90min can reveal that Lukaku has agreed terms on a deal that will make him the club’s highest paid player. The €115m fee agree agreed with Inter equates to around £97.5m – meaning it is just shy of the British record £100m that Manchester City paid for Jack Grealish on Thursday.
A source close to the Lukaku camp has confirmed that he’s excited to return to west London, remarking: “He is so excited the deal is done, he knows Roman Abramovich has pushed hard for this and he wants to show him and Chelsea what he can do. Everyone knows he has unfinished business at Stamford Bridge.”
Early on Friday, reports claimed that Chelsea intended to submit two different bids for Lukaku. The first was a part-exchange deal, with the Blues offering €105m plus right-back Davide Zappacosta, while the second would be a straight-cash deal worth up to €115m. It appears Inter have opted to take the latter option.
Inter’s finances have been hit hard by the pandemic, with Scudetto winning boss Antonio Conte leaving the club as they couldn’t guarantee that his stars would be kept at San Siro – Achraf Hakimi has already departed for PSG, and Lukaku is now set to follow.
Lukaku will become Chelsea’s second senior signing of the summer, following the arrival of backup goalkeeper Marcus Bettinelli. The Blues have long been on the hunt for a new striker, with 90min revealing earlier this summer that they were looking to test Dortmund’s resolve with a £150m bid for Erling Haaland. However, it appears the Norwegian will be staying at Signal Iduna Park for another year.
90min also recently reported that Chelseawere confident of wrapping up a deal that would see Lukaku return to the club he supported as a child. He initially joined the club in 2011, making 15 appearances in all competitions but without ever finding the net.
