Romelu Lukaku to AS Roma

Romelu Lukaku has had a very complicated summer. After what was a somewhat lackluster year with Inter Milan, the Belgian international seemed poised to return to the Italian giants for this new season, but things started to take a lot of twists and turns, with him ending up signing for manager Jose Mourinho’s AS Roma team.

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It was a long way for Lukaku to head to the Italian capital. As mentioned earlier, it seemed that the now-former Inter striker was going to come back to that club due to their interest in getting him on a permanent deal from Chelsea, and he was equally interested, considering how vocal he had been about his love for the club and how much they helped him during some complicated periods of his career.

However, all of this seemed to crash and burn as it was revealed that the Belgian had been talking with the people of Juventus behind Inter’s backs. This decision enraged the Inter board and broke any kind of talks with Chelsea to sign Lukaku on a permanent deal.

For a few weeks, Lukaku seemed poised to join Juventus. Manager Allegri wanted a new striker to lead the attack, and Chelsea were even considering a swap deal involving the Juve striker Dusan Vlahovic, although that never happened. Juventus didn’t have the money to cover Chelsea’s demands, and that deal broke down eventually.

This is when Roma and, even more importantly, Jose Mourinho appeared on the scene. After Tammy Abraham got a major injury, the Italian side was searching for a striker, and this is when the possibility of Lukaku showed up. Mourinho and the Belgian had already worked together at Chelsea and Manchester United, so their connection and relationship was very clear.

According to reports, The deal will see Lukaku going on loan to Roma for the 2023/24 season, and the Italian side will pay Chelsea from 5.8 to 7 million euros for the transfer. This also includes the former Manchester United man lowering his salary to make the transfer happen, earning about 7.5 million euros this upcoming season.

Official, confirmed. Romelu Lukaku joins AS Roma on loan deal until June 🟡🔴

No buy option clause included — back to Chelsea next summer.

“Roma fans were incredible to me — I can’t wait to get started. The owners here have huge ambitions”, Lukaku said. pic.twitter.com/Tr7FpiOKGE

— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) August 31, 2023

It’s also worth pointing out that his plane to the Italian capital broke a worldwide record of being the most followed in history with over 50,000 watches, showing the degree of excitement that the Roma faithful have regarding his signing.

In general terms, this could be a good deal for all parties involved. Lukaku is going to be part of a side where he will have a major role to play, and Jose Mourinho is getting a Serie A-proven striker, one that he is already familiar with. While it is very difficult to picture this Roma side challenging for the league, qualifying for the next edition of the UEFA Champions League should be their main goal.