Just 10 months after shelling out a club-record fee to sign Romelu Lukaku from Inter Milan, Chelsea are sending the striker back like a poorly-fitted pair of trousers.
Co-controlling owner Todd Boehly has negotiated a loan deal that will see Chelsea earn just €8m (£6.9m) up front with add-ons. Lukaku's wages will be covered for the entirety of the loan after taking a 40 per cent cut on his £290,000-a-week salary, but there is no option or obligation to buy, giving Inter the luxury of choosing whether to keep him or not in a year's time.
Much has been made about the Blues’ questionable business in signing strikers in recent years. But the £97.5million deal for Lukaku was meant to be a different — with the Belgian’s form and Premier League experience, outgoing transfer chief Marina Granovskaia felt they couldn’t lose.
