Chelsea striker Romelu Lukaku to take massive pay cut to join Roma after Inter Milan snub

Romelu Lukaku is closing in on a loan move to Roma where he will take a huge pay cut, talkSPORT understands.

The Belgium international has been left out of the Chelsea squad this season and has not even been given a shirt number.

Lukaku has been out in the cold since returning from Inter MilanGetty

It comes after telling the Blues that he is desperate to leave but has failed to join Inter Milan or Juventus, who were both keen on a transfer.

AS Roma have stepped up and are ready to sign Lukaku on loan in a reunion with Jose Mourinho.

But the striker is prepared to take a massive pay cut on his £325,000-a-week contract to force a move to the Italian capital.

Lukaku is prepared to sign a deal at Roma worth £7m for the year, which is a huge decrease on his current £17m contract at Chelsea.

Juventus were also ready to offer the former Manchester United star a £12m salary. while Saudi Arabian clubs were keen on snapping him up as well on what would have been a lucrative contract.

But Lukaku has decided against moving to the Gulf State while talks with Juve broke down.

Mourinho has been a major force for the wantaway star, speaking directly to Lukaku and telling him he wants to bring the best out of him.

The two worked together twice – first in Lukaku’s first stint at Chelsea where he was largely left on the sidelines.

Lukaku told Chelsea he wanted to leave this summerGetty

The striker looks set to reunite with MourinhoAFP or licensors

And second at United, where his debut season went well before the second campaign went pear-shaped.

Nevertheless, talks have been positive and there are just minor details to sort out with Chelsea.

From the Blues’ point of view, Lukaku’s return for £97million in 2021 from Inter Milan has gone awfully.

The 30-year-old arrived to a huge fanfare as the answer to the club’s woes up front but failed to impress, scoring eight Premier League goals.

He fell out with then-manager Thomas Tuchel and was loaned back to Inter Milan the following summer.

But while the Nerazzurri wanted to bring him in again, he snubbed Inter to try and force a move to Juventus, which also failed.

It saw him burn his bridges at both Serie A clubs before Roma stepped up and made the forward an offer.