Romelu Lukaku: Chelsea accept Inter Milan proposal with two key clauses missing

Inter Milan have reached an agreement with Chelsea for Romelu Lukaku to return to the San Siro on loan, bringing an end to the striker’s miserable year at Stamford Bridge.

Belgian star Lukaku moved back to Chelsea – his second professional club – last summer in £97.5m deal. Not only was that a transfer record for Chelsea, it was also, at the time, a British record fee too. But the return to west London has not paid dividends and Lukaku has cut an unhappy figure.

Indeed, he has criticised the team as well as coach Thomas Tuchel, making clear his regret at leaving Inter in the first place. And while publicly Tuchel forgave the striker – despite a hefty club fine – it was clear all was not well between player and club.

Lukaku finished the season with a respectable 15 goals in 44 appearances. But those numbers were significantly down on his previous seasons, with Chelsea’s tactics clearly unsuited to the 29-year-old.

Indeed, he quickly made clear his wish to return to the Nerazzurri this summer if the opportunity presented itself. Now the player has seemingly got his wish after days of talks between the clubs.

The deal had looked in doubt as recently as Monday when Inter CEO Giuseppe Marotta insisted his side would not pay over the odds.

However, as per a variety of sources, Inter have now reached an agreement to bring Lukaku back. Indeed, both Sky Sports Italia and Fabrizio Romano state the Serie A side are paying Chelsea a £6.87m (€8m) loan fee to bring Lukaku back.

Chelsea had been seeking nearer the £10m mark, but now it seems a compromise has been reached. Indeed, Lukaku’s move will contain within it a number of performance-related clauses. However, rather than these be attached to the efforts of Lukaku, they will be measured against by Inter’s results.

As such, a bonuus of £3.8m (€4.5m) will be paid to Chelsea should Inter win either Serie A, the Champions League or the Europa League.

Furthermore, it’s also confirmed that the deal contains no option, at this stage, to make the move permanent. As such, the move to take Lukaku back to the San Siro is a ‘dry-loan’ only.

As a result, Lukaku will return to Chelsea once the 2022/23 season is concluded. That is, of course, unless another agreement is reached.

Lukaku is also taking a signficant pay cut to make the move happen.

Furthermore, FCInterNews claims Lukaku will travel to Italy later this week. He will then undergo a medical with Inter on Friday. If all goes well, he is likely to be presented as an Inter player once more later that day.