Chelsea have allowed Romelu Lukaku to leave the club on loan to join Serie A side Roma; Lukaku spent last season on loan at Inter Milan; the Belgium international joined Chelsea from Inter for £97.5m in 2021; Roma will cover Lukaku's wages after he agreed to a salary cut at Chelsea
Thursday 31 August 2023 13:27, UK
Romelu Lukaku has joined Roma from Chelsea on a season-long loan.
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.
Lukaku links up with former Chelsea head coach Jose Mourinho, who took Roma to the Europa League final last season.
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 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 side Al Hilal were also interested in signing the 30-year-old, who signed for Chelsea from Inter for £97.5m in August 2021.
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.
