Romelu Lukaku: Chelsea agree club-record £97.5m transfer deal to re-sign striker from Inter Milan
Romelu Lukaku left Chelsea in 2014 and earlier in the week instructed Inter Milan to allow him to leave if a suitable offer came in; Inter fans protested against the club's Chinese owners in 2-0 friendly win at Parma on Sunday
Monday 9 August 2021 18:19, UK
Chelsea have agreed in principle a club-record deal worth £97.5m (€115m) to re-sign striker Romelu Lukaku from Inter Milan.
The paperwork is now with club lawyers and once that is formalised, Lukaku will undergo a medical and sign a five-year contract.
Inter have previously rejected two offers from Chelsea for the Belgium international, the second of which was worth £85m (€100m) plus left-back Marcos Alonso.
Lukaku, 28, left Chelsea in 2014 after making just 15 appearances there following his arrival at Stamford Bridge from Anderlecht in 2011.
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One of the most prolific strikers in Europe, Lukaku scored 87 goals in 166 games for Everton between 2014 and 2017 and found the net 42 times in 96 appearances during his two years at Manchester United before signing for Inter in 2019.
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He scored 24 goals in Serie A last season, helping Inter to their first Scudetto in 11 years as the club put an end to Juventus' nine-year reign as Italian top-flight champions.
Inter fans protest against owners - "Zhang, the time is over"
Inter must decrease their wage bill this summer and title-winning manager Antonio Conte left the club in May amid concerns about plans to reduce his budget.
Lukaku was not involved as Inter won 2-0 in a friendly away at Parma on Sunday evening - a match that witnessed prolonged protests against the club's Chinese owners over the planned sale and general cost-cutting strategy.
President Steven Zhang was the target of most of the anger with banners at the game saying "Zhang, the time is over" and "Zhang, if you want to save Inter you have to leave".
Chelsea are eager to sign a world-class centre-forward during the transfer window and Erling Haaland of Borussia Dortmund is another target the Blues have been interested in.
Meanwhile, with Lukaku set to depart the San Siro, Inter Milan are in talks to sign Roma forward Edin Dzeko and are offering the Bosnia and Herzegovina international a two-year deal.
Inter want to sign two forwards to replace Lukaku and one of their other targets is Atalanta's Colombia international Duvan Zapata.
If Atalanta sell Zapata, they will try to sign Tammy Abraham from Chelsea.
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