Lukaku is edging closer to a return to Italy (Picture: Getty)
Chelsea and Roma have asked Romelu Lukaku to take a £7million pay cut in order to push through his move to the Giallorossi.
The Blues had hoped to sell the Belgium international permanently this summer but with less than a week of the transfer window remaining, another loan move is their only viable option.
Roma have entered the race for the former Everton, Manchester United and Inter Milan star but his £325,000-a-week salary at Stamford Bridge is well out of their reach.
Jose Mourinho’s side are only willing to pay a £7m for Lukaku’s services with Chelsea desperate for the striker to reduce his salary for the remainder of his contract at Stamford Bridge, the Evening Standard report.
Talks between Lukaku, Roma and Chelsea will continue with hope the 28-year-old will agree to those terms.
Chelsea signed Lukaku in a £100m deal from Inter Milan in 2021. The Premier League side had hoped to recoup a fee of around £40m this summer with a return to Inter and a proposed move to Juventus falling through.
Speaking on Saturday, Lukaku appeared to confirm a move to Roma was close. Speaking to Belgian publication Het Laatste Nieuws at a youth tournament involving his son, he said: ‘I’m nervous [about his son’s debut], I’m going to Rome [on Sunday] to sign.’
Lukaku is not part of Pochettino’s plans (Picture: Getty)
Lukaku is currently training with Chelsea’s Under-21s and has not spoken to head coach Mauricio Pochettino since the Argentine’s arrival in west London.
‘No [I have still not spoken to him] as the situation has not changed,’ Pochettino said on Thursday.
‘If the player and the club wish to find a solution, it’s not me, it’s them that need to talk. They can then inform me if there is a change.
‘I’m not going to move until the club or the player want to talk with me. I accepted the situation when I arrived. I wasn’t able to change anything.
‘It was before we arrived. In the future, it can change. Things can always change in football. Life can change. At the moment, today, nothing has changed. If something changes, we will adapt to the new situation.’
Roma boss Mourinho meanwhile opened the door to the move on Friday.
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Chelsea are now willing to settle on another loan move.