Chelsea have agreed a deal in principle with Inter Milan to extend Romelu Lukaku’s loan move by a further season, according to reports.
The 29-year-old rejoined the Nerazzurri this summer on loan for the 2022/23 season just one year on from returning to Stamford Bridge for a club-record £97.5 million fee.
It was a move that, unfortunately, didn’t work out for any party other than the Serie A side who raked in big-money for the Belgium international and now have him back at the San Siro for a loan fee, a snippet of the fee of the fee they received for him last summer.
His relationship with Thomas Tuchel broke down and a decision was made by all parties that a departure was the best course of action, however it was only on a temporary basis.
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“When we had the agent and Romelu's point of view, we thought it was best to take the decision that we took and Todd (Boehly) had my full support,” said the Chelsea head coach earlier this month.
“Given the chance he is on loan, of course there is the chance, I don’t know if it’s very likely.
"It's not on me to give an outlook on that. There is a chance for it.
"We decided together we let him go."
He has four years left on his deal and at the end of next season, he is now unlikely to return to Chelsea.
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As reported by Mike Keegan of the Daily Mail, Chelsea have an ‘agreement in principle’ over extending Lukaku’s loan by another season.
Matt Law of the Daily Telegraph reports that there is already a ‘broad proposal for Lukaku to stay’ under similar terms to those that were agreed this summer, if he is a success during the 2022/23 season.
Chelsea would earn another loan fee for Lukaku and it would mean Lukaku doesn’t come back to the club for an extended period of time.
It’s also reported that the hope inside both clubs is that after the two-year spell in Italy, when he will have two years left on his Blues deal, Inter will be able to afford to sign him on a permanent basis.
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Chelsea replaced Lukaku with Raheem Sterling, but work is still to be done in the transfer window for Tuchel to rebuild his squad to his tune.
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“I think we need a couple more players to improve the squad,” admitted the 48-year-old.
"We are third last season. There was a gap. In general, if you want to keep your position or fight, you need to improve.
"We even lost players. It is common sense we need to bring new quality to the team to maintain our level, not even speaking about improving our level."
Featured Image Credit: AlamyTopics: Romelu Lukaku, Thomas Tuchel, Chelsea, Inter Milan, Football
