Lukaku rejoins Chelsea for club-record £97.5m

Chelsea has re-signed Romelu Lukaku for a club-record fee of £97.5m from Inter Milan.

The deal was announced in a statement released on the club’s website on Thursday.

The Belgian striker returned to the London side — seven years after his loan-spells-laden first stint at the club.

He penned a five-year deal that would see him stay at Stamford Bridge until 2026.

“Romelu Lukaku is back in Chelsea blue!” the statement read.

“One of the most prolific strikers in European football, Lukaku has returned to the club he supported as a young boy and where he has unfinished business, having been on our books between 2011 and 2014. The Belgian has signed a five-year contract and will add attacking firepower to Thomas Tuchel’s squad of European champions.”

The £97.5 million transfer fees paid for Lukaku dwarves the amount Chelsea has ever spent on any player.

The money makes Lukaku football’s most expensive player in cumulative transfer fees at £289 million.

Reacting to the transfer, Lukaku expressed his joy at returning to the club he “supported as a kid.”

He added that he hopes to help Chelsea win more titles.

“I’m happy and blessed to be back at this wonderful club. It’s been a long journey for me. I came here as a kid who had a lot to learn, now I’m coming back with a lot of experience and more mature. The relationship I have with this club means so much to me, as you know. I have supported Chelsea as a kid and now to be back and try to help them win more titles is an amazing feeling,” he said.

“The way the club is going fits my ambitions perfectly at 28 and just coming off winning Serie A. I think this opportunity comes at the right time and hopefully, we can have a lot of success together.”

Lukaku first joined the Blues as an 18-year-old from Anderlecht in 2011 but only made 15 appearances for Chelsea before he was sold to Everton in 2014.

The striker then moved to Manchester United in 2017 before joining Inter Milan two years later.

While at Inter, Lukaku was named the Europa League Player of the Season in 2019/20. He also played an integral part as the Italian side won Serie A last season.

His 24 goals and 11 assists earned him the competition’s MVP award.