It is not just the £4.3m pay cut that makes Romelu Lukaku‘s impending move back to Serie A with Roma such an interesting transfer.
i understands the deal could help pave the way for a new “working relationship” between the Serie A side and Chelsea, whose emergence as the biggest mover and shaker in the global transfer market has been well and truly cemented by another window of recruitment excess.
It is rare for owners to become so personally involved in a transfer but Roma owner and president Dan Friedkin, a qualified pilot, was so desperate to broker the move for Lukaku that he even flew the striker back from London to Rome.
Insiders say the negotiations – held over several days in London after a personal phone call from Jose Mourinho convinced Lukaku about the loan – progressed so smoothly between the two parties that future transfer business is a distinct possibility.
For Chelsea’s enterprising hierarchy, who have global ambitions and aspirations to create a multi-club model, that is one unexpected plus of a deal which opens up a striker slot they want to fill in what promises to be a frantic final 48 hours of the transfer window.
Roma will pay £6m to loan Lukaku for the year but there is no obligation or option to buy contained within the deal for the 30-year-old.
The finances behind the deal are fascinating and lay bare some of the considerations on these mega deals. i can reveal Lukaku’s net salary at Chelsea is £10.3m but such was his desire to play and “find love” away from the cold shoulder of Stamford Bridge he has agreed to reduce that package to £6m net to play in the Eternal City.
The Blues have already paid his wages for July and August and because he played a year in Italy last year, Roma get an unexpected benefit of paying just 20 per cent of the tax on his salary. That will save them some £3.7m over the year.
A permanent deal is not in either club’s thinking just yet but if he hits the ground running in Italy, his future surely lies in Serie A. Lukaku’s contract expires in 2026 and the current arrangement seems like a win-win for both parties.
“It was about a partnership between the clubs, he will come here, he will play, get value and then the idea of everyone is getting a next step for next season,” a source told i.
For Chelsea it means a slot has opened for a striker and the Blues’ remarkable transfer window is certain to end with another flurry of both incoming and outgoing business.
Reports suggest a “mystery forward” is on their agenda – Barcelona‘s Ansu Fati and Manchester City‘s Cole Palmer are the latest two names to be linked – but the deterioration of a £97.5m striker on their watch is a reminder that the answers don’t always lie in recruitment.
For Roma the appeal is obvious, with Lukaku the crowning achievement of some nimble work in the market.
The club’s minimum target is to return to Europe’s top table and secure Champions League football this season but they have had to perform some financial acrobatics to get there after walking a Financial Fair Play (FFP) tightrope this summer.
The club’s director of football Tiago Pinto has overseen a transfer window bringing in seven new players, including Denmark defender Rasmus Kristensen and Portugal midfielder Renato Sanches, for around £9m in loan fees. That feels like impressive work in a summer of eye-watering transfers.
from Football - inews.co.uk https://ift.tt/6Hufdsk
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