The Belgian bagged 24 goals last season and helped Italian club Inter Milan win their first league title in over a decade.
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English club Chelsea and Italian club Inter Milan have reportedly agreed a deal in principle for the transfer of Belgian striker Romelu Lukaku. The fee is said to be around 115 million euros. If the deal does go through, it will be a club-record signing for Chelsea. Lukaku has attracted quite a lot of eyeballs during his incredible run of form in the blue and black of Inter in the 2020-2021 season. The Belgian bagged 24 goals and helped the Nerazzurri win their first league title in 11 years. This, in turn, brought an end to the Juventus dominance at the top of Serie A.
Lukaku has immense experience of playing in the Premier League. He had joined Chelsea way back in 2011 at the beginning of his career.
After just 10 appearances for the Blues, he was sold to Everton. It was here that Lukaku made a name for himself as he bagged goals consistently season after season.
These performances drew the attention of Manchester United, who signed him in 2017. Lukaku won the UEFA Europa League and the Carabao Cup for the Red Devils under then-manager Jose Mourinho.
However, his last season at the club is one that we would not like to look back on fondly. He was sold along with Alexis Sanchez in 2019 when Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was appointed as the new manager.
As per reports, the Belgian will reportedly sign a five-year contract at Stamford Bridge which will see him make 12 million euros a year excluding add ons.
Some could argue that it is too much money for a player who failed to deliver at a top Premier League club before. But Lukaku’s performances at Inter speak for themselves.
Chelsea was desperate for a striker after the departure of French player Olivier Giroud and Lukaku could be the perfect fit.
Although the Blues have a good striker already in Timo Werner, the German’s performances last season and in the Euros have not been good enough for Thomas Tuchel to believe in him as a first-team player.
Lukaku is a prolific striker as his record suggests. He is yet to bag a league goal for Chelsea but has had great success at other clubs.
He scored 53 goals during his time at Everton, 28 with Manchester United, and 47 for Inter Milan. Chelsea does need a striker with that killer instinct and the 28-year-old Belgian seems to be the perfect fit.
Earlier, the Blues had tried to sign Erling Haaland from German club Borussia Dortmund. However, that deal never even came close to going through.
They even had their first bid for Lukaku rejected by Inter. They had reportedly offered 100 million euros and Marcos Alonso initially. This time, the reported fee is 115 million euros but without any player.
With the squad Tuchel has assembled so far, Chelsea does look like a team that has a very good chance of winning the Premier League.
They are the reigning European champions as well. The Blues are also reportedly in talks to sign French defender Jules Kounde from Sevilla which can also be a fantastic signing.
