After a summer of slow motion, things are moving quickly in the sale of Romelu Lukaku.
Just like last summer and the summer before that, plenty of potential moves have been mooted, but nothing has really come close to happening until the last couple of days.
Now, green lights are appearing everywhere. Chelsea and Napoli have agreed a fee for him, the striker has agreed personal terms, and today we’ve had the biggest milestones of all which confirms a deal is almost done: the striker has completed his medical, according to Gianluca Di Marzio.
Videos from the airport this morning showed the striker arriving in Italy, and now apparently the tests have all been done.
https://twitter.com/eurofootcom/status/1828733527212302484
A painful chapter ends at last – time to move on
The departure of Lukaku will close a painful chapter in Chelsea’s history. After looking like a superb team just missing a top striker to put chances away under Thomas Tuchel, the Belgian looked the perfect option to complete the team.
In the end, it couldn’t have gone worse. Following a strong start, he fell out with Tuchel and the Chelsea fans, and within 6 months of his £100m arrival, his departure felt inevitable. It’s taken a while for it to actually come to fruition, but the nightmare (for both parties) looks to almost be over.
UPDATE: The deal is done!
Lukaku has completed his move to Napoli. The striker has joined the Italian side for £30m, ending a dreadful chapter in Chelsea’s history. That £325k a week was a lead weight for the club’s finances, and since within just months of his arrival had already proved to be so. Let’s hope we learn our lessons and never spend so much on a player ever again. Next up for the chop is Raheem Sterling, our other top earner…
