Chelsea have agreed a deal in principle to send Romelu Lukaku on a season-long loan to Roma.
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One of the most extraordinary transfer sagas of the summer appears to be at an end after Lukaku agreed to take a significant pay cut to return to Italy.
Upon returning from last season’s loan at Inter Milan, the striker had no plans to play for Chelsea again with negotiations beginning over a permanent switch to the San Siro.
However, the Champions League runners-up failed to meet the Blues’ asking price and later pulled out of the deal upon discovering that the Belgian international was also in talks to sign for bitter rivals Juventus.
Despite agreeing personal terms with the Serie A giants, they too failed to agree a price with Chelsea and gave up on the move amid fierce backlash from supporters.
Mauricio Pochettino and co. were desperate to get a permanent fee for Lukaku and although several Saudi Pro League sides were willing to pay up, the 30-year-old had no interest whatsoever in moving to the Middle East.
But with time running out, Roma emerged as a possible option with the player keen on reuniting with his former Chelsea and Manchester United boss Jose Mourinho.
And The Telegraph now reports that after four days of intense talks, terms for a ‘highly complicated’ deal have been reached with contracts set to be finalised on Monday evening.
It is said that Chelsea will receive a £5million loan fee, while Roma will pay Lukaku just over £6m in wages.
The forward has agreed to take a massive cut from his current £16.9m annual salary, so that his parent club will not pay a penny for him this season.
It has also been agreed that should he return to Stamford Bridge next summer he will have to take a further cut to his wages.
Lukaku re-joined Chelsea in 2021 from Inter for a then-club record fee of £97m, but the transfer proved a disaster as he scored only eight league goals and incensed fans by saying he wanted to move back to Italy just a few months into the move.
After a mixed loan at Inter last season, he’ll be hoping Mourinho can get him back to his best, having previously recorded 33 goals and 11 assists in 76 appearances under the Special One.
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