Chelsea striker Romelu Lukaku is prepared to take a big wage cut to clinch a return to Inter Milan at the end of the season, according to reports.
The Belgium international joined the Blues for a second time last summer when he completed a £97.5 million move from the Italian champions.
But things haven’t gone smoothly for the former Manchester United man so far.
He’s struggled for form on the pitch, scoring five goals in 18 Premier League games so far.
Off the pitch, he caused controversy in an interview with Sky Italia in December, when he said he wasn’t happy with the situation in west London and wanted to return to Inter, “not at the end of my career, but at a still good level to hopefully win more."
Gazzetta dello Sport reported on Saturday that the 29-year-old could do exactly that this summer, but a San Siro switch depends on three factors: Roman Abramovich’s sale of Chelsea needs to go through, the Blues need to accept a loan offer, and the striker must lower his wages.
Abramovich was sanctioned and had his assets frozen by the UK government this week, blocking his attempts to sell the club.
According to the newspaper, Lukaku is open to the wage reduction.
He’s currently on 12.5 million euros net per year at Stamford Bridge (£10.5m), but is willing to go back to his previous terms in Milan of around 7.5m euros (£6.3m).
Tottenham could still get involved in a bidding war for the Belgian, with Antonio Conte keen on a reunion with the player he coached to great success in Serie A.
Although Lukaku’s return hasn’t been the triumph fans hoped for yet, sending him back to Italy on loan would be a questionable business decision to say the least, coming just a year after the striker became their biggest signing of all time.
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