Chelsea are reportedly ready to consider dropping the £37 million Romelu Lukaku asking price as his options for a permanent move grow increasingly slim.
According to a report from Calciomercatoweb, Chelsea would be willing to lower their asking price for Romelu Lukaku to make a permanent transfer more affordable to Serie A giants AS Roma.
Lukaku has made a superb start to his career at the Serie A side following his loan move from the West London club in the summer, scoring seven goals in his first eight appearances in all competitions.
The former Manchester United striker made the move to Roma in the last couple days of the summer transfer window. This followed a long and acrimonious transfer saga that saw Lukaku’s relationship with Inter sour completely.
Then, the Belgium international was linked with Juventus as well as AC Milan and Al-Hilal, among others. But it was the Giallorossi who finally sealed the deal for Lukaku after all the drama and speculation.
After a red-hot start to life in the Italian capital, Jose Mourinho’s side could look to sign the 30-year-old striker on a permanent basis in 2024. And they are already laying the groundwork for the same.
With Inter Milan and Juventus slamming their doors shut for Lukaku after the chaos around his proposed transfer this past summer and the player’s willingness to stay in Italy, Roma hold a significant advantage in their transfer negotiations with Chelsea, who are desperate to offload the wantaway front-man.
Although some Chelsea fans will be wondering if it was an opportunity missed as they struggle with their own striker issues, the likelihood of Lukaku continuing his career at Chelsea is very slim after failing to impress since he was re-signed from Inter Milan for £97.5 million in 2021.
As per Calciomercatoweb, the Blues “no longer want to take him into consideration” for their free-spending project. Instead, the Chelsea hierarchy will be rubbing their hands together should his potential asking price go up for the outcast.
The 30-year-old still has three years left on his Chelsea contract, and Fabrizio Romano recently reported that it will cost Roma around £37 million if they choose to make the signing permanent next summer. However, it seems they will be offering “a small discount to facilitate the deal” for Roma.
