Chelsea agrees to Romelu Lukaku loan deal with Jose Mourinho, Roma

It’s (nearly) official that Chelsea striker Romelu Lukaku will go out on loan to Roma in Serie A, where he will finally play under former Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho.

Chelsea is still retooling, sending players out, and bringing players in to get the Mauricio Pochettino underway. And one of the veterans deemed surplus to requirements is (kind of) longtime Chelsea striker Romelu Lukaku. Now reports are that a loan deal to send the Belgium international to Roma in Italy is all but done.

Daily Telegraphy football reporter Matt Law tweeted that “Chelsea and Roma have now agreed a deal in principle for Romelu Lukaku’s season-long loan. Roma will pay over £5m loan fee and Lukaku will earn about £6m in wages. Just contracts to now be signed and everything to be made formal.”

This loan deal will mark another season that Lukaku is under contract with Chelsea but doesn’t play for the London side.

Lukaku started with Chelsea in 2011, coming over from Anderlecht in his home country. However, he only played 10 total games for the Blues while out on loan to West Bromwich Albion and Everton.

Transfers to Everton, Manchester United, and Inter Milan followed with a return to Stamford Bridge. However, another loan to Inter Milan followed after 26 appearances and eight goals.

Now, Lukaku heads back to Italy to play under another Chelsea outcast, manager Jose Mourinho. “The Special One” managed Chelsea from 2004-07 and again from 2013-15. In those stints, he won three Premier League trophies, an FA Cup, three League Cups, one Europa League, and one Champions League.

Since moving to Roma, Mourinho has won a Europa Conference League title and finished sixth in Serie A last season. Roma started 0-1-1 this campaign ahead of Lukaku’s arrival in Italy’s capital city.

The post Chelsea agrees to Romelu Lukaku loan deal with Jose Mourinho, Roma appeared first on ClutchPoints.

Serie A Highlights: Roma 1-1 Venezia

Watch as relegated Venezia stun Roma in the opening minute, see Sofian Kiyine sent off for kicking Lorenzo Pellegrini in the crotch and put up with 46 shots on goal, including four that rattle the woodwork, before Eldor Shomurodov’s equaliser.

The Lagunari already knew they were doomed to the drop, but that didn’t stop David Okereke surprising defenders within 50 seconds at the Stadio Olimpico.

Serie A | Roma 1-1 Venezia: Relegated Lagunari stall Mourinho

Kiyine saw red for an X-Rated kick on Pellegrini, though Niki Maenpaa and the frame of the goal kept the Giallorossi out, denying two Pellegrini free kicks, Bryan Cristante and Nicola Zalewski.

Shomurodov came off the bench to snatch an equaliser with their 32nd shot of the night.

Serie A Highlights: Roma 1-1 Venezia

Watch as relegated Venezia stun Roma in the opening minute, see Sofian Kiyine sent off for kicking Lorenzo Pellegrini in the crotch and put up with 46 shots on goal, including four that rattle the woodwork, before Eldor Shomurodov’s equaliser.

The Lagunari already knew they were doomed to the drop, but that didn’t stop David Okereke surprising defenders within 50 seconds at the Stadio Olimpico.

Serie A | Roma 1-1 Venezia: Relegated Lagunari stall Mourinho

Kiyine saw red for an X-Rated kick on Pellegrini, though Niki Maenpaa and the frame of the goal kept the Giallorossi out, denying two Pellegrini free kicks, Bryan Cristante and Nicola Zalewski.

Shomurodov came off the bench to snatch an equaliser with their 32nd shot of the night.

Serie A Highlights: Roma 1-1 Venezia

Watch as relegated Venezia stun Roma in the opening minute, see Sofian Kiyine sent off for kicking Lorenzo Pellegrini in the crotch and put up with 46 shots on goal, including four that rattle the woodwork, before Eldor Shomurodov’s equaliser.

The Lagunari already knew they were doomed to the drop, but that didn’t stop David Okereke surprising defenders within 50 seconds at the Stadio Olimpico.

Serie A | Roma 1-1 Venezia: Relegated Lagunari stall Mourinho

Kiyine saw red for an X-Rated kick on Pellegrini, though Niki Maenpaa and the frame of the goal kept the Giallorossi out, denying two Pellegrini free kicks, Bryan Cristante and Nicola Zalewski.

Shomurodov came off the bench to snatch an equaliser with their 32nd shot of the night.

Serie A Highlights: Roma 1-1 Venezia

Watch as relegated Venezia stun Roma in the opening minute, see Sofian Kiyine sent off for kicking Lorenzo Pellegrini in the crotch and put up with 46 shots on goal, including four that rattle the woodwork, before Eldor Shomurodov’s equaliser.

The Lagunari already knew they were doomed to the drop, but that didn’t stop David Okereke surprising defenders within 50 seconds at the Stadio Olimpico.

Serie A | Roma 1-1 Venezia: Relegated Lagunari stall Mourinho

Kiyine saw red for an X-Rated kick on Pellegrini, though Niki Maenpaa and the frame of the goal kept the Giallorossi out, denying two Pellegrini free kicks, Bryan Cristante and Nicola Zalewski.

Shomurodov came off the bench to snatch an equaliser with their 32nd shot of the night.

Serie A Highlights: Roma 1-1 Venezia

Watch as relegated Venezia stun Roma in the opening minute, see Sofian Kiyine sent off for kicking Lorenzo Pellegrini in the crotch and put up with 46 shots on goal, including four that rattle the woodwork, before Eldor Shomurodov’s equaliser.

The Lagunari already knew they were doomed to the drop, but that didn’t stop David Okereke surprising defenders within 50 seconds at the Stadio Olimpico.

Serie A | Roma 1-1 Venezia: Relegated Lagunari stall Mourinho

Kiyine saw red for an X-Rated kick on Pellegrini, though Niki Maenpaa and the frame of the goal kept the Giallorossi out, denying two Pellegrini free kicks, Bryan Cristante and Nicola Zalewski.

Shomurodov came off the bench to snatch an equaliser with their 32nd shot of the night.

Serie A Highlights: Roma 1-1 Venezia

Watch as relegated Venezia stun Roma in the opening minute, see Sofian Kiyine sent off for kicking Lorenzo Pellegrini in the crotch and put up with 46 shots on goal, including four that rattle the woodwork, before Eldor Shomurodov’s equaliser.

The Lagunari already knew they were doomed to the drop, but that didn’t stop David Okereke surprising defenders within 50 seconds at the Stadio Olimpico.

Serie A | Roma 1-1 Venezia: Relegated Lagunari stall Mourinho

Kiyine saw red for an X-Rated kick on Pellegrini, though Niki Maenpaa and the frame of the goal kept the Giallorossi out, denying two Pellegrini free kicks, Bryan Cristante and Nicola Zalewski.

Shomurodov came off the bench to snatch an equaliser with their 32nd shot of the night.

Serie A Highlights: Roma 1-1 Venezia

Watch as relegated Venezia stun Roma in the opening minute, see Sofian Kiyine sent off for kicking Lorenzo Pellegrini in the crotch and put up with 46 shots on goal, including four that rattle the woodwork, before Eldor Shomurodov’s equaliser.

The Lagunari already knew they were doomed to the drop, but that didn’t stop David Okereke surprising defenders within 50 seconds at the Stadio Olimpico.

Serie A | Roma 1-1 Venezia: Relegated Lagunari stall Mourinho

Kiyine saw red for an X-Rated kick on Pellegrini, though Niki Maenpaa and the frame of the goal kept the Giallorossi out, denying two Pellegrini free kicks, Bryan Cristante and Nicola Zalewski.

Shomurodov came off the bench to snatch an equaliser with their 32nd shot of the night.

Mourinho: ‘Roma fans truly special, Conference League means more than Scudetto’

Jose Mourinho praised the ‘truly special’ Roma fans after a moving salute to the crowd, insisting the Conference League would ‘mean more in terms of passion’ than the Scudetto for Inter or Milan.

It looks as if fifth place is now beyond the Giallorossi, as they were held to a 1-1 draw by 10-man Venezia, so focus inevitably now turns to the Conference League Final against Feyenoord on May 25.

With that in mind, the ultras put up a banner in the Curva Sud urging them to ‘crown our dreams of glory and write your names in history.’

Serie A | Roma 1-1 Venezia: Relegated Lagunari stall Mourinho

The players and Mourinho came back out to salute the fans and throw jerseys into the stands, as the crowd and squad applauded each other for a good 10-15 minutes.

This was the final home game of the season, they visit Torino on Friday and then fly to Tirana for the Conference League Final.

“We are the ones who tried to thank the fans. It was once again a family. There is a way we can always thank them, which is to give our all on the field and we did it again today. At the end, if we can also win a trophy, I’ll say it was deserved for us, but even more deserved for the fans,” Mourinho told Sky Sport Italia.

“If this happens, when Milan or Inter win the Scudetto, I think in terms of passion of the people, this means far more. Family is always there when you win, when you don’t win it’s different.

“I don’t know if it has always been like this, but I can say Roma have truly special fans. Truly special.”

David Okereke opened the scoring within 50 seconds and Sofian Kiyine was sent off for a nasty kick in Lorenzo Pellegrini’s crotch just 32 minutes into the match.

The rest of the match was simply a siege on Niki Maenpaa’s goal, leading to 46 shots on goal, 16 of them on target, and the woodwork rattled four times by the Giallorossi.

Eldor Shomurodov eventually managed to scrape an equaliser, but it’s safe to say fifth place is now beyond them.

“We gave our all, deserved to win, obviously playing against 10 men for an hour allows you to dominate even more. Venezia were very good this evening, they are real professionals and I hope to see them back in Serie A soon.

“If we look back over the season, we had a very low percentage of chances converted. With an extra five or six goals, we’d have far more points. That is where we need to improve next season.

“It is clear we are struggling a little at the moment, as we have many players who are at the limit of risking injuries, but we have to keep taking these risks for one more game and then can focus on the Final.”

Nicolò Zaniolo had been expected to start, but was ruled out by a muscular issue.

“Nobody rested, Zaniolo, Mkhitaryan and Felix are all injured, they could not play today.”

Mourinho: ‘Roma fans truly special, Conference League means more than Scudetto’

Jose Mourinho praised the ‘truly special’ Roma fans after a moving salute to the crowd, insisting the Conference League would ‘mean more in terms of passion’ than the Scudetto for Inter or Milan.

It looks as if fifth place is now beyond the Giallorossi, as they were held to a 1-1 draw by 10-man Venezia, so focus inevitably now turns to the Conference League Final against Feyenoord on May 25.

With that in mind, the ultras put up a banner in the Curva Sud urging them to ‘crown our dreams of glory and write your names in history.’

Serie A | Roma 1-1 Venezia: Relegated Lagunari stall Mourinho

The players and Mourinho came back out to salute the fans and throw jerseys into the stands, as the crowd and squad applauded each other for a good 10-15 minutes.

This was the final home game of the season, they visit Torino on Friday and then fly to Tirana for the Conference League Final.

“We are the ones who tried to thank the fans. It was once again a family. There is a way we can always thank them, which is to give our all on the field and we did it again today. At the end, if we can also win a trophy, I’ll say it was deserved for us, but even more deserved for the fans,” Mourinho told Sky Sport Italia.

“If this happens, when Milan or Inter win the Scudetto, I think in terms of passion of the people, this means far more. Family is always there when you win, when you don’t win it’s different.

“I don’t know if it has always been like this, but I can say Roma have truly special fans. Truly special.”

David Okereke opened the scoring within 50 seconds and Sofian Kiyine was sent off for a nasty kick in Lorenzo Pellegrini’s crotch just 32 minutes into the match.

The rest of the match was simply a siege on Niki Maenpaa’s goal, leading to 46 shots on goal, 16 of them on target, and the woodwork rattled four times by the Giallorossi.

Eldor Shomurodov eventually managed to scrape an equaliser, but it’s safe to say fifth place is now beyond them.

“We gave our all, deserved to win, obviously playing against 10 men for an hour allows you to dominate even more. Venezia were very good this evening, they are real professionals and I hope to see them back in Serie A soon.

“If we look back over the season, we had a very low percentage of chances converted. With an extra five or six goals, we’d have far more points. That is where we need to improve next season.

“It is clear we are struggling a little at the moment, as we have many players who are at the limit of risking injuries, but we have to keep taking these risks for one more game and then can focus on the Final.”

Nicolò Zaniolo had been expected to start, but was ruled out by a muscular issue.

“Nobody rested, Zaniolo, Mkhitaryan and Felix are all injured, they could not play today.”