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Chelsea could see release clause for flop striker activated after hot start

By Evan Curnew

OLIMPICO STADIUM, ROME, ITALY - 2023/10/05: Romelu Lukaku of AS Roma pours water on his face during the Europa League Group G football match between AS Roma and Servette FC. Roma won 4-0 over Servette. (Photo by Andrea Staccioli/Insidefoto/LightRocket via Getty Images)
OLIMPICO STADIUM, ROME, ITALY - 2023/10/05: Romelu Lukaku of AS Roma pours water on his face during the Europa League Group G football match between AS Roma and Servette FC. Roma won 4-0 over Servette. (Photo by Andrea Staccioli/Insidefoto/LightRocket via Getty Images) /
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Chelsea did their best last summer to sell all the deadwood at the club in hopes of progressing the club’s rebuild under Todd Boehly. Younger players have signed, and the club is now looking to sell the last few players from the old regime. One of those players is Romelu Lukaku, whose time at Chelsea is likely over.

The Belgian striker is currently on loan at AS Roma after having two separate botched loans with other Serie A sides. Inter was looking to bring the player back for a third stint at the club after previously playing for Il Biscione before his 2020 move to Chelsea and on loan last season. Those talks faltered after it was made public that Lukaku had been secretly talking to Italian rivals Juventus about a loan move for the season. That loan move to Juventus also broke down after Chelsea failed to close a deal.

Moving to Roma just before the closing of the summer transfer window, Romelu Lukaku has quickly proven himself to be a useful player for Jose Mourinho. Despite Roma’s poor start in the league, Lukaku has netted 7 goals in his first seven appearances for Roma. As was reported at the time of his signing and now confirmed by Fabrizio Romano, Chelsea have put a release clause in Lukaku’s new contract that can be activated for £37m next summer. A reminder that Chelsea paid roughly £97.5m for the striker from Inter, who only went on to score 15 goals in 44 games during the 21-22 season.

Despite their massive spending, Chelsea isn’t necessarily teetering the line of FFP regulations, but it can always help for a team with so much buying to bring some funds back into the club. They’re taking a gargantuan loss on the player but it feels as though it is time for all parties to move on from each other.

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