Inter striker Romelu Lukaku has agreed to return to Chelsea and is expected to move to Stamford Bridge as soon as the Blues put €130m on the table for the Nerazzurri.
The Belgian striker has already informed his club and coach Simone Inzaghi that he wants to return to London.
Chelsea have offered Lukaku a €12m-a-year contract plus up to €3m in bonuses, so the only thing missing to finalise the deal is an agreement between the two clubs.
Inter have already rejected a €100m bid plus Marcos Alonso, but according to multiple reports, the Nerazzurri will let Lukaku go for €130m.
Chelsea are expected to make an improved bid by the end of the week, so that Lukaku can join the Blues in time of the UEFA Super Cup Final on Wednesday, August 11.
The Blues’ coach Thomas Tuchel refused to reply to questions regarding the 28-year-old after a 2-2 friendly draw against Tottenham on Wednesday.
“I will not talk about players who don’t play in my squad. Romelu Lukaku is a fantastic player, but he is a player from Inter and with all due respect, I will not involve him in this discussion,” was the response,” the German coach said.
“Everybody wants to come. Well, not everybody but a lot of players want to come.”
Inter need to sell Lukaku as the Nerazzurri must make at least €80m profit after the summer transfer window.
They have already sold Achraf Hakimi to PSG for €71m, including bonuses, but that’s still not enough for Suning.
According to La Gazzetta dello Sport and Il Corriere della Sera, the Inter owners pushed for Lukaku’s sale, leaving the club’s directors unhappy and new coach Simone Inzaghi furious.
Che schifezza! Inter win the scudetto after just over a decade, then the team implodes with defections and transfers. Lukaku is one of my favorite players in soccer, and losing him is a big blow for Serie A (I can care less about the impact to Inter). Can’t blame Conte for seeing the writing on the wall and leaving when he did…Suning mortgaged the house for short term run at glory, but they can’t keep up the payments. Not fair for Inzaghi, but Inter finishing in the top four will take a Herculean feat.