Romelu Lukaku: Chelsea close to sealing club-record £97.5m deal for Inter Milan striker

Chelsea are close to sealing a deal to re-sign striker Chelsea are close to sealing a deal to re-sign striker Romelu Lukaku for a club-record fee of £97.5m from Inter Milan.

Despite saying earlier in the summer he was happy to stay with the Italian champions, the 28-year-old Belgian reversed his stance this week and told Inter that he wanted to join Chelsea if the right offer was received.

The deal would be just short of the £100m British record that Manchester City paid Aston Villa for England midfielder Jack Grealish on Thursday.

Some details are still to be resolved, but provided there are no unexpected problems, Lukaku will return to the club where he spent three seasons from 2011, although two of those seasons were spent on loan at West Brom and Everton.

A return to Stamford Bridge this summer will come seven years after he left the west London club for Everton on a permanent deal in 2014.

He almost re-joined them again in 2017, but instead opted to sign for Manchester United for an initial £75m.

If Chelsea now pay £97.5m to get him back, that will mean two of the top six fees paid for a player in British football have been for Lukaku.

Lukaku scored 47 goals in 72 Serie A appearances over two seasons at the San Siro, helping Inter to a first league title since 2010 last term. for a club-record fee of £97.5m from Inter Milan.

Despite saying earlier in the summer he was happy to stay with the Italian champions, the 28-year-old Belgian reversed his stance this week and told Inter that he wanted to join Chelsea if the right offer was received.

The deal would be just short of the £100m British record that Manchester City paid Aston Villa for England midfielder Jack Grealish on Thursday.

Some details are still to be resolved, but provided there are no unexpected problems, Lukaku will return to the club where he spent three seasons from 2011, although two of those seasons were spent on loan at West Brom and Everton.

A return to Stamford Bridge this summer will come seven years after he left the west London club for Everton on a permanent deal in 2014.

He almost re-joined them again in 2017, but instead opted to sign for Manchester United for an initial £75m.

If Chelsea now pay £97.5m to get him back, that will mean two of the top six fees paid for a player in British football have been for Lukaku.

Lukaku scored 47 goals in 72 Serie A appearances over two seasons at the San Siro, helping Inter to a first league title since 2010 last term.