Lukaku set to take unwanted Premier League record after costly Chelsea mistake
Romelu Lukaku is in danger of becoming the most expensive mistake in Premier League history after agreeing a loan move to Roma.
Lukaku, 30, cost Chelsea a club record £97.5m when he returned to Stamford Bridge in 2021 but made just 26 appearances - scoring eight goals - in his second spell at the club. Belgium star Lukaku fell out with former boss Thomas Tuchel just six months later and there is no way back for the giant striker at Chelsea.
They are in danger of posting a massive loss on Lukaku in what looks potentially the worst and costliest transfer in English football history. Chelsea actually spent £17m to sign him from Anderlecht as a youngster in 2011, loaned him to West Brom before selling him on to Everton for £28m.
Lukaku later went to Manchester United, then to Inter Milan and Chelsea bought him back for £97.5m in 2021 on a five-year contract worth £325,000-a-week.
They ended up loaning him back to Inter for two years but they could not afford his wages this summer, Juventus tried but could not make the figures work and he is now going to Roma to link up again with ex-United boss Jose Mourinho.
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Roma are paying a loan fee in excess of £7m, Lukaku has agreed a big pay cut to make the deal happen because Chelsea do not want to subsidise his wages again which only underlines how much he prefers Serie A to the Premier League. A source close to Roma said: “The owners of AS Roma are committed to ensuring that a deal with Lukaku is done.
Romelu Lukaku is on the brink of leaving Chelsea (Getty Images)“The club has improved year on year with the Friedkin family's investment and they see him as a core part of their vision for the club to achieve their best result yet, and finish Top 4 in Serie A.”
But Lukaku - even including the £28m they made on selling him to Everton and money saved in wages on loaning him out - has cost in excess of £100m in transfer fee and wages.
In return, Lukaku has managed just eight goals and, in loaning him to Roma, Chelsea have still not solved the problem. They have only kicked the can down the road for another year.
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