Chelsea set to take eye-watering €85m hit on Romelu Lukaku as Inter finally agree to buy Blues flop outright

Inter are now prepared to buy Chelsea flop Romelu Lukaku outright, but will only offer a fraction of the price the Blues paid for him.

The Belgian - who still has three years of a five-year contract remaining at Stamford Bridge - will be the subject of a fresh offer from the Nerrazzurri, reported by Gazzetta dello Sport to be €30 million (£25.6m/$33m) plus substantial add-ons. The Italian giants had previously been pursuing another loan deal following his stint there in 2022-23, but Chelsea only want an outright sale.

That potential fee represents a huge loss for Chelsea, who re-signed the player in 2021 for €115m (£98m/$126m) before being shipped out on loan after one disappointing season in west London.

Lukaku had been due to reunite with his Chelsea team-mates for pre-season training, although new boss Mauricio Pochettino had hinted a resolution to his future was close. With his future perhaps soon to be settled, Lukaku can fully focus on pre-season preparations as the Champions League finalists gear up for Serie A's resumption on the August 20.