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Romelu Lukaku has completed part of his Chelsea medical in Milan and he will now fly to London to complete his £ 98million ($ 136million) transfer from Inter.
The medical exam was carried out at the Columbus Clinic before the club’s record was transferred to Chelsea, which will see the Blues pay nearly all of the fees up front.
Inter had briefly slowed down the transfer to sign a replacement and appeared to be closing in on a deal for Roma’s Edin Dzeko.
How much will Lukaku earn?
The 28-year-old will earn around £ 250,000 a week on a five-year contract until 2026.
However, the striker’s decision was not money driven as he viewed a return to Stamford Bridge as his best option to continue earning silver amid Inter’s financial crisis.
Initially, Lukaku was willing to stay, but an important argument from Thomas Tuchel over the phone about Chelsea’s ambition helped change his mind.
Lukaku began his medical visit in Chelsea, Italy. We’re still on track for an announcement tomorrow (as reported on Saturday). This is even after Inter slowed down the process to sign Dzeko as a replacement #CFC https://t.co/2pSsWrdngz
– Nizaar Kinsella (@NizaarKinsella) August 9, 2021
Having previously sold Achraf Hakimi to Paris Saint-Germain, and after seeing manager Antonio Conte step down, Lukaku also saw that Inter could struggle to repeat last season’s title success in the short term.
What other transfers are happening in and around Chelsea?
Chelsea’s next priority will be signing Jules Kounde from Sevilla after seeing an early offer turned down.
They had hoped to involve Kurt Zouma in a swap deal but it was turned down by the La Liga club, who only want money for the French international defender.
Zouma remains available for interested clubs, although Chelsea want up to £ 30million ($ 42million) for the defender who recently refused to move to West Ham.
The Blues are also open to signing a central midfielder, but are currently prioritizing contract renewals and player sales.
Tammy Abraham has interests from Arsenal, Roma and Atalanta, but neither club see the asking price of £ 40million ($ 55million) as viable.
Chelsea will also offload a host of other players, such as one from Marcos Alonso or Emerson Palmieri. Meanwhile, Tuchel has complained about having to train 42 players, many of them from the club’s loan group having been in and around the club’s pre-season plans.
Figures like Tiemoue Bakayoko, Ross Barkley, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Danny Drinkwater and Davide Zappacosta face an uncertain future ahead of the new season.
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