Romelu Lukaku
Romelu Lukaku has completed the first part of his medical ahead of his £98m return to Chelsea and dropped a big hint that a deal is close to being over the line.
The Belgian forward was recorded leaving Milan’s Columbus clinic on Monday afternoon and appeared to be holding a Chelsea shirt at the back of the car as he was whisked away.
He will rejoin Chelsea seven years after his departure for Everton in 2014 and after a terrific season for Inter Milan, where his goals led the Nerazzurri to the Serie A title.
The two clubs have now agreed a fee for Lukaku, 28, who told Italian champions Inter last week that he wanted to join Chelsea.
He is poised to sign a contract worth around £200,000 per week after tax.
Lukaku is also set to overtake Neymar and become the most expensive player of all time in accumulated transfer fees.
His latest switch will take him ahead of the Paris Saint-Germain attacker in combined transfer fees, with the Belgian set to rack up an eye-watering total of £291m.
Inter’s financial problems mean they have been willing to let a number of players go already this summer, including Achraf Hakimi and Ashley Young, with Lukaku’s departure on the cards for a while as the club looks to balance the books.
Lautaro Martinez has been linked with a move to Tottenham too, with the Scudetto holders seeing some of their key players leave the squad.
Lukaku’s first move saw him go from boyhood club Anderlecht to Chelsea for £17m as an 18-year-old.
He then opted to move to Everton for £28m and subsequently joined up with Jose Mourinho at Manchester United in 2017 for £75m.
However, the Belgian fell out of favour during his second campaign at Old Trafford in what was his worst scoring campaign for four years, prompting a move to Italy for £73m in the summer of 2019 – but now he is set to be on the move again.