Chelsea : Romelu Lukaku’s new release clause
Chelsea forward Romelu Lukaku is on the verge of completing a season-long loan move to Serie A side AS Roma after a deal was fully agreed between all parties.The contract that will see Lukaku return to Italy was finalised on Monday evening, as per The Telegraph’s Matt Law, with Belgium’s all-time record goal-scorer forced to agree to a wage cut in order to join Roma.
The Telegraph have reported that after four days of negotiations with Roma and Lukaku, Chelsea have finally agreed a deal to end a summer of speculation about their wantaway 30-year-old forward.
Lukaku was expected to join Inter Milan on a permanent deal at the beginning of the summer, after his loan spell at San Siro in 2022-23, but he began negotiating with Juventus, which ended Inter’s pursuit.
A proposed move to Juve also fell through, in part due to the Old Lady’s desire to include Dusan Vlahovic in the deal and thanks to fan protests, leaving Lukaku with few options.
However, Jose Mourinho’s Roma entered the fray and have now agreed a deal that will see them pay a €5.8 million (£5m) loan fee to sign Lukaku for the 2023-24 campaign. Roma will also pay his wages in full, although the Belgian forward has been forced to agree to a wage cut to make that happen.
Roma’s budget only stretched to afford a salary just over €7m (£6m) for the season, and as Chelsea did not want to pay any of Lukaku’s wages, the 30-year-old was forced to lower his wages to Roma’s budget.
Chelsea also ensured that Lukaku’s wages will decrease further should he return to Stamford Bridge in 2024, while a release clause was also implemented, as per The Telegraph.
Lukaku now has a €41.2m (£37m) release clause included in his Chelsea contract, which the Blues believe could be triggered if he impresses at Roma.
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