Inter Milan 'willing to pay €30m to sign Chelsea forward Romelu Lukaku'

A year on from selling the player to Chelsea in a £97.5m deal, Inter were able to secure a reunion on a season-long loan deal for 2022-23.

The 30-year-old initially failed to impress on his return to San Siro, but he ended the campaign with 14 goals and seven assists in all competitions.

With those numbers acting as a catalyst for Inter to want to retain the services of the Belgium international, there is potential for continuous back-and-forths between the relevant parties.

Chelsea have allegedly informed their Inter counterparts that they are not prepared to give the green light to a straight loan arrangement for the second year in a row.

That does not particularly suit Inter, who cannot afford to pay a substantial fee for Lukaku this summer, while the player's preference is to continue in the colours of I Nerrazzurri.

While offers from AC Milan and Juventus may soon be put on the table, Inter are by far and away Lukaku's first choice, and it appears that the Champions League runners-up are willing to facilitate a complex deal.

According to Sky Sport Italia, Inter are ready to put forward a loan proposal with the obligation to buy, meeting Chelsea's demand in that regard.

However, it is suggested that the offer will be €10m (£8.64m) short of Chelsea's asking price, Inter only able or willing to go as high as €30m.

Furthermore, Inter officials are hoping that Chelsea will agree to receiving payments that reach that figure over a number of instalments, rather than up-front in 2024.

As it stands, it is unclear whether Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital will be prepared to accept such an arrangement, regardless of it looking the current most realistic scenario in front of them.

Chelsea had been hoping that selling Lukaku this summer would aid their efforts to meet FFP regulations for the upcoming campaign, although they may be in line to already achieve that goal.

The sales of Edouard Mendy, Kalidou Koulibaly, Mateo Kovacic and Kai Havertz stand to generate in excess of £125m, while Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Hakim Ziyech are expected to complete transfers to AC Milan and Al-Nassr before close of business on Friday.

Chelsea also want to find a resolution with Mason Mount, who Manchester United want to sign for a fee in the region of £55m as soon as possible.