File image of Romelu Lukaku©AFP
Romelu Lukaku completed his move from Chelsea to Roma on Wednesday after being hailed as a hero by fans. Roma have yet to make an official announcement, but Serie A have confirmed the deal is complete on their list of completed transfers. Thousands of fans greeted Belgian striker Lukaku after he landed at Ciampino airport, just outside the Italian capital, on Tuesday. His arrival was a boost for Roma after a worrying start to the new Serie A season.
Italian media reports that Chelsea have accepted Roma’s offer of around €6 million ($6.5 million) to sign outcast Lukaku for this season, giving the Italians the striker they’ve been looking for since Tammy Abraham damaged the knee ligaments at the end of last season.
Lukaku has agreed to take a pay cut from nearly €11 million to around €7.5 million to move to Roma, which operates under a Financial Fair Play settlement agreement with UEFA.
Roma have amassed one point from their first two games and their inability to convert dominance into goals was fully demonstrated in Saturday’s 2-1 defeat to Verona.
Chelsea, meanwhile, have been trying to fire Lukaku permanently all summer in a bid to end a disastrous transfer that cost the Premier League club a €115 million purchase from Inter Milan and his whopping annual salary.
But talks with Inter – where he was loaned out last season – reportedly fell through after the club discovered he had secretly spoken to their main rivals Juve and AC Milan.
Instead, he has reunited with his former Manchester United coach, Jose Mourinho, as the capital city side attempts to qualify for the Champions League for the first time since 2018.
(This story has not been edited by DailyExpertNews staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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