Inter Milan have suggested a ‘salary-sharing’ deal with for that could help the Blues to bankroll a move for forward Robert Lewandowski.
The Italians are keen on re-signing Lukaku, who left the club for Chelsea last summer in a record £97m transfer.
However, Inter are unwilling to pay the same amount to re-sign Lukaku and would require Chelsea to significantly lower their asking price if they’re to sign the Belgian on a permanent basis.
Instead, the Italians are exploring a loan deal for Lukaku that would see them pay around a third of Lukaku’s £325,000-a-week wages.
This would be combined with a loan fee, potentially as high as £20m according to the Sun. That would effectively act as a down payment for a permanent deal in Lukaku in 2023.
Chelsea agreed similar deals for the likes of Diego Costa and Alvaro Morata in recent years once it became clear that they would struggle to permanently offload the strikers.
While Chelsea would still have to pay around £200,000-a-week to keep Lukaku, Inter’s payment would more than cover his salary and provide the space for Thomas Tuchel to go for another striker.
The German’s first choice is Bayern star Lewandowski, who has made it clear that he wants to leave the Bundesliga giants.
Though Barcelona remains the Pole’s preferred destination, the La Liga giants are in a desperately bad financial position and must sell before they can buy.
Chelsea would have no such problem and Todd Boehly’s consortium are seeking for a superstar to spearhead their new ownership of the club.
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