Romelu Lukaku joining Chelsea after rejecting Manchester United as Everton ace closes in on return to old side
Belgian striker gets late offer from Old Trafford for reunion with Special One but has heart set on Stamford Bridge move
ROMELU LUKAKU is close to a Chelsea return after snubbing a last-minute offer from Manchester United.
Jose Mourinho looked to throw a spanner in the works by making a late move for the Everton star.
However, Lukaku has no intention of moving to Old Trafford and his representatives informed United that a transfer to Chelsea is nearly complete.
Lukaku will pocket weekly wages worth £160,000 – double the amount he currently earns at Goodison Park.
And the deal is set to smash Chelsea’s transfer record with a fee of over £80million set to seal to deal.
It’s said Everton would prefer to do business with United due to Ronald Koeman’s interest in Chris Smalling and Sergio Romero.
Mino Raiola has also been trying to persuade Lukaku to head to the Theatre of Dreams after sealing deals for Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Paul Pogba and Henrikh Mkhitaryan last summer.
But the player himself is desperate to return to Chelsea, where he failed to score in 15 appearances before being shipped off to Merseyside.
Lukaku said: “I take the decision. I want to improve and enhance myself. We are in talks with the club. I want to play in the Champions League and try to win the Premier League a few times.”