Romelu Lukaku has arrived in London to complete his £97.5m (€115m) transfer to Chelsea from Inter Milan.
The Belgium international Romelu Lukaku left Chelsea in 2014 and earlier in the week instructed Inter Milan to allow him to leave if a suitable offer came in; during 2-0 friendly win at Parma on Sunday the club fans protested against the club’s Chinese owners.
The 28-year-old striker landed in Biggin Hill Airport on Wednesday evening after a stop in Monte Carlo. He underwent the first part of his medical in Milan after Chelsea agreed in principle a club-record deal to re-sign the striker.
The paperwork is now with club lawyers, and once that is formalised, Romelu Lukaku is expected to sign a five-year contract, worth £200,000 a week.
It was known that Inter have previously rejected two offers from Chelsea for the Belgium international, the second of which was worth £85m (€100m) plus left-back Marcos Alonso.
Meanwhile, Roma have agreed a £34m deal to sign Tammy Abraham from Chelsea and the England international striker must now decide if he wants to join the Italian club, who are managed by former Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho.
Another Serie A side Atalanta and Arsenal from Premier League are also interested in Abraham, but London base club Chelsea prefer to sell him to a foreign club, making a move to their London rivals less likely.
Lukaku left Chelsea in 2014 after making just 15 appearances there following his arrival at Stamford Bridge from Anderlecht in 2011.
One of the most prolific strikers in Europe, Lukaku scored 87 goals in 166 games for Everton between 2014 and 2017 and found the net 42 times in 96 appearances during his two years at Manchester United before signing for Inter in 2019.
He scored 24 goals in Serie A last season, helping Inter to their first Scudetto in 11 years as the club put an end to Juventus’ nine-year reign as Italian top-flight champions.
Lukaku will be most expensive player in history in terms of combined transfer fees, standing at a staggering £308.5m – over £30m more than Neymar in second (£271.7m) when the deal is completed.
Skysports
