On Wednesday, Romelu Lukaku finalized his season-long loan transfer from Chelsea to Roma, receiving a warm reception from the fans who hailed him as a hero.
While Roma’s official announcement is pending, Serie A has officially confirmed the completion of the deal in their list of concluded transfers.
Upon his arrival at Ciampino airport just outside Rome on Tuesday, thousands of supporters enthusiastically greeted the Belgian striker.
Lukaku’s presence comes as a much-needed morale boost for Roma, especially following a challenging start to the new Serie A season.
Although the formal announcement from Chelsea is yet to come, reports from Italian media suggest that Roma secured Lukaku’s services for the season by agreeing to a deal worth approximately six million euros ($6.5 million).
This move addresses Roma’s quest for a striker, a void created by Tammy Abraham’s knee ligament injury at the close of the previous season.
Lukaku has consented to a salary reduction, adjusting his earnings from nearly 11 million euros to around 7.5 million euros, in order to facilitate his transfer to Roma.
The club is operating under a Financial Fair Play settlement agreement established with UEFA.
After gathering only one point from their first two matches, Roma’s struggle to convert their dominance into goals was evident during their recent 2-1 defeat to Verona.
Meanwhile, Chelsea has been endeavoring to permanently offload Lukaku throughout the summer in an effort to recover from what had been a disastrous transfer.
Lukaku’s acquisition cost the Premier League club a hefty 115 million euro transfer fee to Inter Milan, in addition to his substantial annual salary.
Negotiations
However, negotiations with Inter – the club Lukaku was loaned to last season – reportedly fell apart after the club discovered his undisclosed communications with their major rivals, Juventus and AC Milan.
Instead, Lukaku finds himself back under the guidance of his former Manchester United coach, Jose Mourinho, as Roma strives to secure qualification for the Champions League, a feat they haven’t accomplished since 2018.
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