Transfer guru Fabrizio Romano has claimed that while there is no official release clause in Romelu Lukaku’s contract, Chelsea have a “gentleman’s agreement” with the player’s agents. As part of the agreement, the Blues will allow the Belgian to leave for a €40 million ($43.79 million) fee next summer.
Fabrizio Romano Says Chelsea Wants To Avoid Another Ruckus Surrounding Lukaku Deal
Lukaku, who is currently on loan at AS Roma, was initially expected to join Inter Milan in the 2023-24 summer transfer window. After the move fell through, he was linked with Inter’s rivals Juventus, but that deal also failed to materialize. Ultimately, Jose Mourinho’s Roma swooped in with a season-long loan offer, which Chelsea reluctantly accepted.
The Pensioners do not want another such ruckus involving Lukaku next summer, which is why they have reportedly struck a gentleman’s deal with the player’s agents. Shedding light on the matter, Romano revealed in his Daily Briefing column (via Caught Offside):
“From what I’m told, Romelu Lukaku has something like a release clause, but not a proper release clause.
“There is a gentleman’s agreement between the player’s agents and Chelsea, because they don’t want a situation like a few months ago in the summer transfer window when they had to negotiate with Juventus, then with Inter, then with Roma – it was a very complicated summer for Chelsea around the Lukaku story, and so there is now a possibility for him to leave for €40m – and that’s not just for Roma, that’s for any club.”
The Italian journalist added:
“From what I’m told, Roma still have no clarity on what will happen next season with some key figures, such as manager Jose Mourinho and director Tiago Pinto – it’s therefore too early for Roma to decide if they can pay that money for Lukaku. We’ll have to see around March/April when things will become more clear.”
There Should Not Be Any Shortage Of Suitors For Lukaku
Lukaku has been in excellent form for club and country lately. The 30-year-old has played 14 games for Roma in all competitions, scoring nine times. Similarly for Belgium, he has scored 15 goals in just nine games in 2023. In his last outing for the Belgian Red Devils, Lukaku scored four times to propel his team to a 5-0 victory over Azerbaijan.
Given how well he has fared this year, Chelsea should not have problems attracting offers for their attacker.
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