Chelsea putting finishing touches to £98MILLION deal to bring Romelu Lukaku back to Stamford Bridge… with the striker to have his medical in Belgium on Sunday before flying into London
- Romelu Lukaku is edging ever closer to sealing a return to Stamford Bridge
- Chelsea are close to agreeing a £98million deal for the Belgian with Inter Milan
- The Italian champions are in financial turmoil and are selling their main assets
- Lukaku will complete his medical in Belgium on Sunday before flying to London
Chelsea are finalising a £98million deal to bring Romelu Lukaku back to Stamford Bridge.
Talks with Inter Milan reached a conclusion on Saturday after days of negotiations over the fee and structure of the transfer.
Sportsmail understands Lukaku will complete his medical in Belgium on Sunday before flying to London to complete the move.
Chelsea are on the brink of sealing a £98million for Inter Milan striker Romelu Lukaku (centre)
Thomas Tuchel has been keen to bolster his attack as he looks to win the Premier League title
Lukaku had agreed to the move earlier this week after it became clear Inter were willing to sell to alleviate financial concerns and is expected to agree terms on a contract worth around £10m a year after tax.
The deal will also see Manchester United – where Lukaku played for two years before heading to Serie A – receive £3.8m.
Chelsea’s move for the 28-year-old accelerated after their attempts to prise Erling Haaland from Dortmund were met with continued rebuttals.
Dortmund having sold Jadon Sancho were only prepared to accept a ‘crazy offer’ for the Norwegian and Chelsea were not prepared to make their bid into a further drawn out saga.
They know the importance of helping Thomas Tuchel get off to a quick start in the Premier League and wanted to give him the centre forward he craves to bolster their attacking output.
Olivier Giroud has already been sold to AC Milan while Tammy Abraham is also expected to leave with Atalanta, Arsenal and Southampton among those keen to sign the England international.
Chelsea wanted Erling Haaland but they focused on Lukaku after that deal became unworkable
Chelsea have issues in front of goal with Timo Werner struggling so far at Stamford Bridge
Abraham could yet fit into the Lukaku equation as a replacement for Duvan Zapata at Atalanta. The Colombian is wanted by Inter as Lukaku’s replacement and Atalanta will have funds to bid for £40m-rated Abraham should he show a willingness to move abroad.
Chelsea’s deal for Lukaku does not include players as makeweights despite Marcos Alonso and Zappacosta being offered at various stages of discussions.
Lukaku spent three seasons at Stamford Bridge at the start of his career but only made 15 appearances for the club before heading to Everton.
He has since established himself as one of the best strikers in Europe. He scored 87 goals in 166 matches for Everton, 42 goals in 96 games for United and 64 goals in 95 appearances for Inter Milan.
Chelsea still want to add a centre back with Sevilla’s Jules Kounde under discussion.
Lukaku previously played for Chelsea (pictured) before he was sold to Everton back in 2014
Lukaku has scored an incredible 64 goals in 95 appearances across all competitions for Inter
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