Todd Boehly has been given the green light for Romelu Lukaku to leave Chelsea and return to Inter Milan this summer, according to reports.
The American, who took control of the club along with Clearlake Capital back in May, is set to make his first big decision since succeeding Roman Abramovich.
Abramovich went out in fashion, splashing the cash in a £97.5 million deal to bring Lukaku to Stamford Bridge last season.
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However, the move did not work out as the Belgian struggled to find his feet in Thomas Tuchel’s system, scoring 15 goals over the course of a controversial campaign.
Back in December, the Belgian sat down with Sky Italy to conduct an interview that all but sealed his future away from Stamford Bridge, criticising the tactics implemented by Tuchel as well as admitting that he wishes to return to Inter Milan one day.
It has recently been reported that Lukaku will now ‘devote’ himself to leaving Chelsea, just under a year since his return to the club.
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Now, Boehly has made his decision regarding last summer’s big name signing as he is prepared to allow him to leave.
Matt Law of the Telegraph has revealed that Boehly has been convinced that allowing Lukaku to return to Inter Milan this summer ‘represents the best course of action’.
Talks are officially underway as the Blues look to offload their number nine on a loan deal to the San Siro.
Boehly held a meeting with the Serie A side, which Lukaku’s representatives sat in on as they plan a swift exit, which could be agreed by the end of the week.
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The report continues to state that head coach Tuchel is understood to be in agreement with the decision, allowing Lukaku to leave so that Chelsea can turn their attention to bring in new attackers this summer.
When previously asked about reports stating that Lukaku would ask the new owners to leave the club, Tuchel said: “I think if he plans to talk with the owner it is not his plan to talk with me!
"It’s fair enough. Let’s see if he gets a meeting! It is his right. We will talk to anybody. We will evaluate any situation of any player including Romelu. We will see what is going to happen and what the plans are.
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"That’s what it is sometimes in football, the attention is so high that sometimes it attracts situations that you don’t want to have before big matches. It’s the way it is. For me it is not a distraction and hopefully for everybody that works on the team and the team itself it is not.”
Manchester City duo Raheem Sterling and Gabriel Jesus have been linked with switches to Stamford Bridge as Barcelona’s Ousmane Dembele could start the rebuild for Tuchel at Chelsea.
Topics: Chelsea, Chelsea Transfer News & Rumours, Romelu Lukaku, Inter Milan, Football
Nick Emms