Chelsea complete €115m signing of Lukaku

Robin Bairner

• Updated: 28 Aug 2021 13:03 CDT
• 3 min read

Chelsea have signed Romelu Lukaku from Inter for a €115 million (£97.5) fee.

Lukaku has become Chelsea’s first major signing of the summer, with goalkeeper Marcus Bettinelli their only new face previously.

He has signed a five-year contract with the club that will expire in 2026.

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Lukaku's Chelsea return

Lukaku returns to the club he left in 2014, having struggled to impose himself after arriving as a promising young talent from Anderlecht in 2011.

Indeed, during his previous spell, the 28-year-old failed to score a single Premier League goal with the Blues, instead spending the 2012/13 and 2013/14 campaigns on loan at WBA and Everton respectively. Despite Lukaku’s success during these moves, he was ultimately shunted on to the Toffees, where his goal scoring exploits continued.

His form at Goodison Park won him a £75m move to Manchester United in 2017, but despite a decent strike rate at Old Trafford he moved to Inter two years later, having been branded a flop.

Lukaku's Inter success

Lukaku scored 47 goals in 72 Serie A matches for champions Inter, firing the club to the title and catching the eye of Europe’s biggest sides again in the process.

The Belgian enjoyed a great relationship with manager Antonio Conte at San Siro but, when the Italian left earlier this summer, doubts began to surface about Lukaku's future.

Inter have been fighting a financial crisis in 2021, with their Chinese owners Suning hit hard by the Coronavirus pandemic.

The Nerazzurri have had to cut costs this summer and have also been forced to sell Achraf Hakimi to PSG for €70m.

And it is Chelsea who have proven to have the financial muscle to secure Lukaku for a record-breaking fee.