Manchester City’s record fee to sign Jack Grealish played into Chelsea’s mind in their bid to land Romelu Lukaku from Inter Milan, according to reports.
The Premier League champions recently announced the arrival of the 25-year-old midfielder from Aston Villa for a sum worth £100 million, which makes Grealish the most expensive player in Premier League history, surpassing Paul Pogba, for whom Manchester United paid £89 million in 2016.
Chelsea had an initial offer of €100 million (£84.8 million) and Marcos Alonso rejected by Inter for Lukaku, who is scheduled to undergo his Chelsea medical on Sunday in Belgium before flying to London to complete his £97.5 million transfer to Stamford Bridge.
As reported by ESPN, Chelsea purposely kept their final offer for Lukaku below the astonishing fee splashed by Pep Guardiola’s side on Grealish, who has penned a six-year contract at the Etihad Stadium.
Lukaku is set to sign a five-year contract at Chelsea, where he will earn €12-13 million-per-year (£195,000-per-week after tax), which will make him the highest earner at Stamford Bridge.
It has been reported recently that a final agreement for Lukaku was struck during call between members of the two clubs’ boards that took place at 2:50 PM [UK] on Saturday
Furthermore, the Anderlecht academy graduate requested to be left out of the matchday squad in his current side’s friendly against Parma on Sunday to complete a move to west London.
Chelsea are expected a conclude a deal for the Belgium international over the weekend, with the club waiting to strike a total agreement with Inter over the structure of the fee, following which the striker will be announced as a Chelsea player on either Monday or Tuesday.
