Romelu Lukaku rejoins Inter Milan on loan from Chelsea
Romelu Lukaku is officially an Inter Milan player again after completing his season-long loan move from Chelsea, with no obligation to buy.
Inter will pay Chelsea a loan fee of £6.9m plus £3.5m in bonuses if they win the Scudetto, and will cover all his wages this season.
The Chelsea striker flew into Milan Linate airport around 6.20am local time and posed with an Inter scarf before getting in a car.
“I’m so happy to be back,” he said. Having completed his medical, Lukaku has officially announced as a new Inter player.
Lukaku has agreed to a 30-per-cent pay cut to smooth his exit, with his earnings set to drop from £10m per year after tax to £7m.
The breakthrough last week came after several rounds of negotiations over the past few weeks involving Lukaku’s lawyer Sebastian Ledure and Inter chief executive Giuseppe Marotta.
Lukaku scored just eight Premier League goals in 26 outings last season after returning to Stamford Bridge for a club-record fee.
In December, Lukaku frustrated Chelsea fans when he told Sky in Italy he wanted to return to Inter one day, saying: “I really hope in the depths of my heart to return to Inter, not at the end of my career, but at a still good level to hopefully win more.”
Last week, it was revealed Inter cannot afford to sign Lukaku – who scored 64 goals in 95 games and helped them to the Serie A title during his time at the club – on a permanent deal.
Chelsea decided to let Lukaku leave after talks between Todd Boehly – who was appointed chairman and interim sporting director on Wednesday – and Thomas Tuchel, as well as discussions between Boehly and Lukaku.
The owner and head coach wanted to resolve Lukaku’s future quickly so they could focus on strengthening their squad this summer.
Chelsea are keen to sign Raheem Sterling from Manchester City, while Richarlison, Ousmane Dembele, Jules Kounde, Matthijs de Ligt, Jonathan Clauss and Milan Skriniar are also targets.
The Blues are also in talks with Leeds over a deal for winger Raphinha, with the club prepared to sanction a deal in excess of £50m to get the deal done.
