Fabrizio Romano confirms Chelsea agreement for 287-goal striker as reunion talks take place

Chelsea are willing to sell one of their most expensive assets for a fee which is around £60m cheaper than the one they paid 26 months ago.

Romelu Lukaku arrived at Stamford Bridge from Inter Milan in the summer of 2021. The Belgian was signed for a blockbuster fee of around £97.5m, which at the time made him the most expensive footballer in the club’s history.

The Anderlecht academy graduate arrived in London with great expectation after a number of successful seasons in England which had seen him score a combined 113 Premier League goals across spells at West Brom, Everton and Manchester United.

Lukaku was regarded as one of the best goalscorers in world football after two prolific seasons at Inter Milan and it was hoped that he would be the man to fire the then European Champions to domestic glory. The Belgian made a strong start to life back at Chelsea and scored on his debut at Aston Villa, before firing in a double against London rivals Arsenal.

But things quickly unravelled for the 6ft3 striker and he regularly clashed with head coach Thomas Tuchel, who eventually sent the player back to Inter Milan on loan after a disappointing season which saw him score just eight Premier League goals.

Lukaku struggled to emulate the success of his first spell at Inter Milan and scored 10 goals in 25 appearances. He was linked with a move back to the San Siro throughout the summer, while Juventus also declared their interest.

But the out of favour Chelsea star eventually settled on a loan move to fellow Serie A side Roma where he is reunited with former head coach Jose Mourinho, who he worked alongside at both Chelsea and Man Utd.

Lukaku has shown renewed signs of form under the Portuguese coach and has scored seven goals in eight appearances in all competitions as he looks to make an impression for Belgium ahead of Euro 2024.

This strong form has prompted talk of a permanent switch for the striker and transfer guru Fabrizio Romano claims Chelsea have set an asking price of £37m for the forward.

The Italian tweeted: “Understand Chelsea have already fixed an exit fee for Romelu Lukaku in summer 2024 — and it’s around £37m. There’s an agreement to make Romelu available for that fee next year. Lukaku, doing great on loan to Roma as he scored 7 goals.”

Lukaku has expressed happiness to be back working with Mourinho and told Italian outlet Tuttomercatoweb: “As I have said in the past, he and I have a special relationship. He knows me and my children. He’s someone I can trust, and he puts his trust in me. He’s tough, but that’s the only way I can grow.”