Chelsea ‘agree deal’ to send Romelu Lukaku to Roma for third spell under Jose and insert shock clause into his contract
ROMELU LUKAKU is heading back to Italy for another reunion with Jose Mourinho at Roma after Chelsea finally agreed a new loan for their outcast striker.
The Serie A side are taking the big Belgian on a season-long loan and paying £8million following a breakthrough in talks on Monday.
Former Chelsea and Manchester United boss Mourinho managed Lukaku for a year and a half at Old Trafford between the summer of 2017 and December 2018.
The Portuguese tactician also coached the centre-forward at Stamford Bridge for a brief period in 2013.
There are still minor details that need to be sorted out but Lukaku will take a substantial pay cut on his £325,000 a week wages and Roma will cover the rest.
The Telegraph has also reported that as well as a reduction in wages, Chelsea have inserted a £37m release clause into Lukaku’s contract.
It will save Chelsea around £16m this season in wages but there is no obligation from Roma to buy next June when the loan expires.
Lukaku has been in football exile since returning from loan with Roma’s rivals Inter Milan at the end of last season.
He was banished from training with the senior squad and instead trained with the Under-21s.
New manager Mauricio Pochettino was also forbidden to pick the unsettled star while the wrangling went on to find a compromise.
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Pochettino and new chairman Todd Boehly inherited the stand-off between the player and club.
Lukaku, 30, became frustrated under former Chelsea head coach Thomas Tuchel over tactics and was reprimanded for giving an unauthorised TV interview and then had to make a public apology.
He was eventually packed off to Inter last season and helped them reach the Champions League Final.
Chelsea were adamant that they would only do a permanent deal to sell Lukaku this summer but have been forced to backtrack.
They were keen to sell him to the Saudi Pro-League but feelings inside Stamford Bridge are that this window closed when Fulham’s Aleksandar Mitrovic got in first and made a move to the Middle East ten days ago, leaving Boehly with fewer options.
Lukaku cost Chelsea a then club record £97.5 million when they signed him from Inter two years ago.
He scored 15 goals in his first season back but was still unhappy under German Tuchel and also suffered a string of injuries.