Chelsea striker Romelu Lukaku’s potential return to Inter Milan was ‘never so close’ as it is now, with the Italian side pushing to make a deal happen.
That’s according to Gazzetta dello Sport and Corriere dello Sport, who both cover a potential permanent transfer today.
First Gazzetta, who say that Lukaku has ‘never been so close’ to returning to Inter, who have made a ‘decisive’ move to try and bring him back on a permanent basis.
The newspaper reports that following a meeting between Inter and Sebastien Ledure, the Belgian lawyer who is both Lukaku’s agent and an intermediary for Chelsea, the Italian club made it clear they intend to buy Lukaku permanently.
That is music to Chelsea’s ears as they have been pushing for that to happen in negotiations, resisting another loan deal entirely. 
That decision from Inter is an ‘important acceleration’ in the situation and Lukaku will not returning to London on Wednesday, despite Mauricio Pochettino stating that he would need to in a press conference yesterday.
The striker is willing to risk incurring a fine for doing so, preferring to stay away from the club and wait for Inter to work out a deal.
That’s likely to start next week, with Ledure in charge and set to take a proposal to Stamford Bridge. In reality, though, the negotiations started yesterday when Inter made it clear that they are willing to buy Lukaku outright.
The Blues have accepted they need to make a loss on the striker and, with nobody else matching the €50m offer from Saudi Arabia, would want a deal worth in the €40m region. Inter would not like to go beyond €30m, so there is work to be done on that front.
The two sides have, however, found an agreement ‘on the modality’ of the deal and that’s a positive starting block as both clubs accept the fact he will return to Inter and nowhere else this summer.
Corriere dello Sport, meanwhile, state that a move for Lukaku is ‘inevitable’ this summer as there is no place for him at Chelsea.
He wants to return to Inter at all costs and is even willing to ‘give up something’ in terms of his salary to make sure that the move can be finalised.
He is ‘convinced’ he can still be a star at the highest level following a strong end to last season and now wants the deal done between Inter and Chelsea as soon as possible.
Corriere differ from Gazzetta, though, as they say that rather than a permanent transfer, Inter want to loan him with a ‘conditional obligation’ to buy the Belgian at the end of it for €25-30m.
That loan would include various bonuses on top linked to achievements such as qualifying for the Champions League and other competitions.
Either way, Inter are determined to get the Belgian back and he is determined to return, so there is a deal there to be done as Chelsea continue to trim down their own squad and balance the books.
