The lawyer representing Romelu Lukaku is due to be in direct contact with Chelsea on Monday afternoon to discuss the player’s future and to scope out the possibilities for a second return to Inter.
Lukaku joined Chelsea from Inter or a fee in the region of €113m back in the summer of 2021, but after a disappointing season at Stamford Bridge, was loaned back to the Nerazzurri for the 2022-23 campaign.
For many weeks already, it has been widely reported that Inter are keen on bringing Lukaku back to San Siro on a permanent basis, but given the price Chelsea paid less than two years ago, negotiations are not expected to be straightforward.
Now, official negotiations are thought to be getting underway. Pogba’s lawyer, Sebastien Ledure is set to have a virtual meeting over the phone with representatives from Chelsea at some point on Monday afternoon as per La Gazzetta dello Sport.
Ledure, who was also involved in securing Lukaku’s loan back to Inter last season, has been entrusted with igniting the first spark in discussions between the two clubs according to reports in La Gazzetta.
The report suggests that Lukaku has been subject of several different proposals over the course of the summer already, including from Saudi Arabia and from both Milan and most recently Juventus, but his sole intention has always been to remain with Inter.
Chelsea may have been keen to offload Lukaku for a fee of around €50m to a club in the Saudi Pro League, but the player’s desires to stay on with the Nerazzurri would have made negotiations tricky.
La Gazzetta reports that in Monday’s meeting, Chelsea will reiterate that their price tag for Lukaku starts at €45m, although Inter will want to get that fee reduced, ideally to around €35m.
Lukaku is also reported to be willing to reduce his salary by around €1m per season in order to help force a move through.
Today’s contacts are said to be the first moves in what will likely be a long and complex saga, although with Andre Onana moving closer to joining Manchester United for a considerable fee, Inter will have cash to spend and are determined to bring Lukaku back once more.