Romano says out-of-favour Chelsea star will find it ‘very difficult’ to complete permanent move to Italian club

Fabrizio Romano says AS Roma may find it difficult to sign Chelsea loanee Romelu Lukaku even if they secure Champions League spot

Fabrizio Romano reveals Chelsea might find it challenging to send Romelu Lukaku on a permanent move to AS Roma even if they secure the Champions League next season after the Blues slapped a £38 million price tag on the Belgium forward.

Lukaku, who completed a loan move to Roma last summer, is currently enjoying a productive season, with the Serie A club scoring 20 goals across all competitions. Chelsea are hoping that his performance could convince the Italian club to sign him permanently, but it is now proving to be challenging for them given his worth.

And now another problem has arisen regarding his permanent move to Roma. Even if they secure the Champions League next season, his price tag could be a problem, which will make it complicated to bring in the striker.

The Serie A club is currently sixth in the league, six points behind fourth-placed Juventus, and now they have four matches to play. If they manage to win all of them and hope the team above drops points, then it could be achievable for Roma. Romano, who updated his Daily Briefing further, said:

‘’Even if AS Roma qualifies for the Champions League next season, it’s still going to be very difficult for the Italian club to keep Romelu Lukaku for the 2024–25 season. It’s a really expensive deal with Chelsea, as the striker has a £38 million clause and the player’s wages will be high.’’

It seems like Roma won’t be able to afford Lukaku’s price tag, and Chelsea will have to find a different buyer as they don’t see any future with the Belgium striker next season. The 30-year-old has been impressive for the Serie A giants, and his stats for this campaign should convince other clubs to express their interest.

But, the price we are asking for Lukaku is reasonable considering the enormous sum we had to pay to get him for Chelsea, of which we want to recoup half. In addition, he has been playing well and should draw interest from clubs after the season concludes.

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We have not been able to send him to a long-term club, just teams that have signed him on loan, therefore we will have to look for a permanent buyer for him yet another summer.