Lukaku returns to Inter, Sterling to Chelsea?

Romelu Lukaku is a relieved man

Finally, as per reports, Inter Milan reached an agreement with Chelsea over a season-long loan that fulfils his wish to return to the San Siro.

Lukaku was reportedly moved to tears after hearing this!

He became emotional when informed by his lawyer Sebastien Ledure that a breakthrough had been reached in negotiations between Chelsea and Inter on Tuesday.

Inter will pay Chelsea a £7million loan fee plus add-ons for Lukaku.

Romelu will be taking a 35 per cent pay cut on his wages of £325,000-a-week at Stamford Bridge, which will work out to around £210,000.

The Belgian striker, 29, will go back to Inter just a year after leaving for a second stint at Chelsea in a club record deal worth £97.5million.

Lukaku had a below par season in Chelsea where he scored just 15 times in 44 matches.

He also disrupted the club’s campaign by giving a television interview in December in which he criticized manager Thomas Tuchel.

The talks had stalled on Monday but Inter president Steven Zhang intervened and made the deal happen.

Lukaku will have a medical at Inter next week to confirm the move.

Lukaku is contracted at Stamford Bridge until 2026 but his desire to make a return to Inter has been clear.

Apparently, Lukaku even called manager Simone Inzaghi on his birthday back in April and asking: ‘Mister, what do I need to do to come back?’

The conversation came the day before Chelsea played a crunch Champions League quarter-final with Real Madrid.

This was a match where Lukaku missed a good chance to score, and he didn’t find the net for over a month afterwards.

Chelsea’s new owner Todd Boehly wanted the Lukaku deal done quickly so the club can concentrate on their pursuit of  Manchester City and England winger Raheem Sterling.

They want a deal for Sterling completed as quickly as possible, too, so that he can have a full pre-season with Tuchel and his new team-mates.

Lukaku enjoyed two successful seasons at Inter between 2019 and 2021, scoring 64 times in 95 matches and winning the league title in 2020-21.

Apart from Sterling, Man City could lose another key player.

Star winger, Bernardo Silva has been strongly linked to the Camp Nou.