“Arriva Lukaku” and “Inter-Lukaku: ci siamo”: La Gazzetta dello Sport leaves little to no doubt about it. Romelu Lukaku returns to the club with which he won the national championship in 2021.
Last summer Lukaku moved for 115 million euros to Chelsea, the club of his (boys) heart, the childhood sweetheart that he wanted to give another chance.
But for Lukaku it was not a happy reunion in the end and homesickness drives him back into Inter’s arms.
Chelsea no longer keeps the leg stiff, but does want butter on the fish. And that’s where the shoe pinches, because Inter is hitting its financial limits. That’s why it had sold Lukaku last summer.
But according to La Gazzetta dello Sport, an important step was taken yesterday. “Inter and Chelsea have sat at the same table for the first time, albeit digitally,” writes the pink newspaper.
“The video conference addressed phase 2, the most delicate. Inter was represented by CEO Beppe Marotta, Lukaku by lawyer Sebastien Ledure and Chelsea by new owner Todd Boehly.”
“It was the first time that all the main players were on the field at the same time,” La Gazzetta winked.
Although the price tag will of course still have to be negotiated. Inter first want to hire Lukaku for 5 million euros and would like to increase the offer to 10 million euros, but Chelsea are counting on a higher amount: 15 million euros.
It is believed that the top clubs will intersect somewhere along the way, with or without another Inter player as small change.
It should not be a real soap, however, because Inter and Lukaku benefit from a completion before the end of this month. The parties could then still benefit from the favorable Italian tax regime (which will become less attractive from 1 July).
