Chelsea have agreed terms over the loan of striker Romelu Lukaku to Serie A side Roma; Lukaku spent last season on loan at Inter Milan; the Belgium international joined Chelsea from Inter for £97.5m in August 2021
Thursday 31 August 2023 11:18, UK
Romelu Lukaku is expected to formally sign his season-long loan deal with Roma today after undergoing a medical on Tuesday.
The move is a straight loan with a fee worth between £7m to £8m depending on performance-related conditions.
Roma will cover Lukaku's wages after he agreed to a salary cut for the remaining three years of his Chelsea contract.
There is a release clause in his contract too, thought to be in the region of £38m.
Roma officials Ryan Friedkin and Tiago Pinto flew to London last weekend for face-to-face talks with Chelsea over a deal to bring Lukaku to the Italian capital for the season.
Lukaku spent last season on loan at Inter Milan after he fell out of favour at Chelsea following a controversial interview in which he said he was not happy under former head coach Thomas Tuchel.
The striker was keen on a return to Italy and was happy to go to Rome because of his desire to work with manager Jose Mourinho again.
Juventus held talks with Chelsea over the signing of Lukaku earlier this summer, while Inter were also keen on bringing the Belgium international back to Italy.
Saudi Arabian side Al Hilal were also interested in signing the 30-year-old, who signed for Chelsea from Inter for £97.5m in August 2021.
Talks between Bayern Munich and Chelsea are ongoing over the signing of defender Trevoh Chalobah.
The structure of payment and its terms are still being negotiated.
It's thought Chalobah wants to make the move and personal terms not expected to be a problem. All parties are hopeful of concluding a deal.
Bayern see Chalobah as a replacement for Inter Milan-bound Benjamin Pavard.
Chalobah has five years left on his contract with the option of a further 12 months.
Meanwhile, midfielder Lesley Ugochukwu is expected to stay part of the first-team squad.
Chelsea were considering loaning him to Strasbourg for the season.
Who will be on the move in the final days of the transfer window before it closes at 11pm on September 1 in England and midnight in Scotland?
Keep up to date with all the latest transfer news and rumours in our dedicated Transfer Centre blog on Sky Sports' digital platforms. You can also catch up with the ins, outs and analysis on Sky Sports News.
