Romelu Lukaku swap deal takes shape as Chelsea transfer priority made clear

Roma are weighing up offering Tammy Abraham in direct exchange to sign Romelu Lukaku from Chelsea next summer.

The Blues prioritised the striker’s exit in the summer after it was revealed he was ‘not talking’ to the club’s new boss Mauricio Pochettino and was training separately from his teammates. He eventually joined Roma on a season-long loan arrangement, with no option to make the move permanent.

The west London club have reached an agreement with Lukaku that they will sell him next summer should they receive a fixed fee of £37million. That would be little over a third of the fee they spent on the striker from Inter in 2021, a then-club record £97.5m move, but would still likely be beyond the Italian capital club.

The 30-year-old has impressed in the early stages of the campaign with the Giallorossi, for whom he has bagged eight goals in ten appearances. That reunited him with Jose Mourinho, who briefly coached him at Chelsea before then signing him for Manchester United in the summer of 2017 and making him the central striker at the club across the following 18 months.

A report in Calciomercato outlines that the Giallorossi are seeking an alternative to paying the £37m fee upfront for Lukaku. Instead, they may offer Tammy Abraham – whom they signed from the Blues in 2021 – in a swap move for the Belgian to offset any fee.

Having netted 30 goals in a season-and-a-half at Chelsea, following multiple prolific loan spells away from Stamford Bridge, Abraham bagged an impressive 27 goals in his debut season in Rome but struggled in the second campaign, netting just nine goals in 54 matches.

Abraham suffered an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury on the final day of the Serie A season, having to be carried off on a stretcher in Roma's 2-1 victory against Spezia at the Stadio Olimpico. That ensures that the striker will be out of action for at least the remainder of the calendar year, although ACL injuries can lead to significantly longer layoffs.

However, Abraham’s ongoing fitness issues may ensure that Chelsea are not keen on taking a plunge to re-sign the striker who emerged through their famed youth system. It does present the Blues with a dilemma on how to deal with Lukaku beyond this season.

It appears that the Belgian has no future at Stamford Bridge and they are unlikely to be keen on sanctioning a third successive loan exit this summer. Whether any club will take the plunge on their £37m asking price remains to be seen, while Roma would love to make the switch permanent.