Revealed: Lukaku REJECTED Bundesliga giants to sign for Mourinho's Roma

Cameron Smith

Updated: 27 Aug 2023 11:08 CDT
3 min read

Romelu Lukaku, Inter, 2022/23 — © ProShots

Borussia Dortmund made a late play for Chelsea forward Romelu Lukaku, but the Belgium international rejected that approach in favour of joining AS Roma, according to reports in Italy.

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Lukaku, 30, is on the verge of joining Jose Mourinho’s Roma, as per Fabrizio Romano, with the deal expected to be completed very shortly.

It comes after months of speculation regarding Lukaku’s future and a potential move back to Serie A.

The Belgian star was initially expected to simply re-join Inter Milan on a permanent deal once his one-year loan move ended this summer, but he angered the Nerazzurri by negotiating with Juventus too.

That ended Inter’s interest, before Juve also pulled out of the race to sign Lukaku after fans protested against signing him.

Roma are now set to land the wantaway Chelsea man, who has been training with the Blues’ academy squad after being exiled from first-team sessions.

Mauricio Pochettino recently hinted that Lukaku could be re-integrated into the Chelsea first-team set-up if a move away wasn’t agreed, but the 30-year-old is now set to finally depart the club on loan.

Chelsea had wanted to offload Lukaku on a permanent deal, but they were forced to reluctantly change their stance to include a loan deal following a lack of interest.

Tammy Abraham’s ACL injury means Roma are in the market for a new striker, with Mourinho very keen on a reunion with Lukaku after the pair spent time together at Chelsea and Manchester United.

Lukaku REJECTS Dortmund

While his move to Roma is all but done, Lukaku also had an offer from Borussia Dortmund, but the Belgian turned that down, according to Corriere dello Sport, via Tuttomercatoweb.

The Bundesliga outfit were reportedly ready to make a late charge to sign the 30-year-old, but Lukaku already had his heart set on joining Roma, resulting in the proposal being rejected by the Chelsea man.