Roma reached an agreement with Chelsea on Monday to sign striker Romelu Lukaku on a season-long loan deal, sources told to transfer insider Fabrizio Romano.
Roma will reportedly cover €7.5 million of Lukaku’s original €11.5-million salary and pay Chelsea a loan fee worth more than €5 million.
Lukaku agreed to take a pay cut to make the deal work, according to The Telegraph’s Matt Law.
Chelsea spent the summer trying to offload Lukaku, who returned to the club following a one-year loan spell at Inter Milan. The Italians wanted to re-sign the Belgian international on a permanent basis but abandoned negotiations when they learned he had been in secret talks with bitter rivals Juventus.
Juventus fans protested Lukaku’s potential arrival during a preseason match earlier this month. Fans also unfurled a banner that read, “Lukaku, stay in Milan, we already have a second goalkeeper.”
Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino recently admitted the club had already decided to dump Lukaku by the time he took the job in May.
“The situation with the player you are asking is a situation that was already really clear before we arrived here,” Pochettino told reporters. “There was a wish between the club and the player to try to find a solution (for a new club). At the moment, we are relaxed, and nothing happened. If something changes, we will inform.”
Lukaku entered the last couple of weeks of the transfer window without any real suitors. Roma emerged as a last resort, with club owner Dan Friedkin reportedly flying to London to meet with the player and negotiate a lower salary.
Lukaku will reunite with Jose Mourinho at Roma. The Portuguese manager coached the 30-year-old during the early part of his career with Chelsea and again at Manchester United in 2018.
With exactly one week left in the transfer window, many clubs are scrambling to make last-minute additions, either to put themselves over the top or rectify issues that have emerged early in the new season. There’s still plenty of talent available to accomplish those goals. Here are 20 players who could yet be on the move prior to the Sept. 1 deadline.
Note: Estimated transfer values provided by transfermarkt.com.
Central midfielders, particularly with a proclivity for the defensive side of the game, are going to be very popular on this list as some of Europe’s top clubs scramble to complete much-needed midfield rebuilds. Amrabat, not currently training with Fiorentina’s first team, is chief among the candidates.
Folarin Balogun (Arsenal)
Age: 22 Position: Striker Estimated value: €30M
Balogun’s future has been a source of intrigue ever since he returned to Arsenal following a prolific loan spell at Reims. Eddie Nketiah is Mikel Arteta’s preferred option whenever Gabriel Jesus is unavailable, meaning Balogun must look elsewhere for minutes. A transfer to Monaco seems imminent.
Juventus publicly cast the decorated veteran aside early in the summer, leaving him out of the team’s preseason tour of the United States. Bonucci, whose physical decline has been severe, reportedly wanted to remain in Italy. But with few domestic suitors, he now appears set to join Union Berlin.
Joao Cancelo (Manchester City)
Matt McNulty – Manchester City / Manchester City FC / Getty
Age: 29 Position: Full-back Estimated value: €50M
Pep Guardiola’s decision to eschew traditional full-backs worked wonders for Manchester City last season, so Cancelo’s return from his Bayern Munich loan was always likely to be temporary until another suitor came along. Barcelona, still in a delicate financial state, are trying to formulate a deal.
Now 31 and clearly not at the peak of his powers any longer, Coutinho profiles like a prime candidate to collect one last big payday in the Middle East. Saudi Arabian and Qatari clubs are reportedly interested in signing the diminutive Brazilian playmaker, whose career has fizzled since leaving Liverpool.
Whether it happens over the next week or next summer, Crystal Palace are in line to turn a massive profit on the holding midfielder who joined the Eagles from Lens last year for around £21 million. Talk of Liverpool’s interest has been incessant, but Palace will fight to keep the blossoming Malian.
Joao Felix (Atletico Madrid)
Age: 23 Position: Forward Estimated value: €50M
Felix, who has looked downright miserable all summer while waiting for a transfer to materialize, clearly wants a fresh start. At this point, Atletico Madrid would surely welcome a transfer, too. The Portuguese forward still has plenty to offer, but his next move will be critical to get his career back on track.
Ryan Gravenberch (Bayern Munich)
DeFodi Images / DeFodi Images / Getty
Age: 21 Position: Central midfielder Estimated value: €30M
Gravenberch arrived in Bavaria last summer as one of the most exciting midfield prospects in all of world football. But after just three starts and 576 Bundesliga minutes in his debut season at Bayern, the young Dutchman is being tipped to depart in search of more regular playing time.
Randal Kolo Muani (Eintracht Frankfurt)
Age: 24 Position: Striker Estimated value: €80M
Paris Saint-Germain have been working to sign Kolo Muani all summer as they try to leave their failed Galacticos experiment in the rearview and embark on a new era built around young French stars. The two clubs are reportedly “optimistic” about striking a deal before the Sept. 1 deadline.
West Ham United are on the brink of winning a heated race for one of the game’s most electrifying talents. Kudus, linked with Chelsea and Brighton & Hove Albion earlier this summer, could cost the Hammers nearly €45 million plus a hefty sell-on clause. The Ghanaian is more than worth it.
Romelu Lukaku (Chelsea)
Age: 30 Position: Striker Estimated value: €40M
Lukaku played this one horribly. He apparently ghosted Inter, the one team that actually wanted him, enraging the club’s brass and ending any hope of a return that seemed like a foregone conclusion. Chelsea want him out, and Juventus fans protested against his potential arrival. Now what?
Nobody on this list needs a move more than Maguire, the much-maligned defender who has unfortunately gone from Manchester United captain to a punchline in record time. The Red Devils’ valuation could be a stumbling block, but for the good of all parties, Maguire needs to leave Old Trafford.
Kylian Mbappe (Paris Saint-Germain)
Age: 24 Position: Forward Estimated value: €180M
After a winding – and, frankly, tiring – encore of this never-ending transfer saga, Mbappe and PSG appear back on amicable terms despite an extremely bitter contract feud that led to the French superstar’s alienation from the squad. He could stay. He could join Real Madrid. At this point, who knows.
Matheus Nunes (Wolverhampton Wanderers)
Age: 24 Position: Central midfielder Estimated value: €45M
Nunes’ move to Wolves was never just about his on-pitch abilities. Were it not for his ties to super-agent Jorge Mendes, the Portuguese midfielder would have went straight from Sporting CP to a top-tier European side. Molineux was always just a pit stop, with Manchester City now keen on a deal.
Amadou Onana (Everton)
Age: 22 Position: Central midfielder Estimated value: €45M
Given some of the astronomical fees being thrown around for midfielders this summer, Everton would be well within their right to demand a huge sum for Onana. The Belgian could instantly improve many top-end clubs, and he still has room to improve.
Benjamin Pavard (Bayern Munich)
DeFodi Images / DeFodi Images / Getty
Age: 27 Position: Defender Estimated value: €40M
Inter Milan have reportedly agreed to an initial €30-million deal with Bayern Munich for the versatile French defender, who is looking for a new adventure after four years in Germany. The Bundesliga champions must find a replacement before sanctioning a sale, though. The clock is ticking.
Kalvin Phillips (Manchester City)
Age: 27 Position: Central midfielder Estimated value: €32M
Manchester City being on the hunt for another midfielder prior to the deadline likely says everything you need to know about whether Phillips’ status within the squad has changed at all. Stapled to the bench last season, the Englishman is a candidate to make a last-minute loan move on deadline day.
Mohamed Salah (Liverpool)
Age: 31 Position: Forward Estimated value: €65M
Every transfer insider has been steadfast in reporting that Liverpool don’t want to sell Salah this summer, and that the Egyptian star, who signed a new contract just last summer, is happy at Anfield. But until the window closes, continued rumors of a gargantuan Saudi offer will have Reds fans sweating.
Khephren Thuram (Nice)
Age: 22 Position: Central midfielder Estimated value: €40M
The trail has gone somewhat cold after Thuram was linked with the likes of Liverpool and Manchester United earlier in the summer. But, assuming that interest was genuine, the Frenchman could reemerge as a target in the final week of the window as clubs circle back on their familiar targets.
Marco Verratti (Paris Saint-Germain)
Aurelien Meunier – PSG / PSG / Getty
Age: 30 Position: Central midfielder Estimated value: €40M
Lionel Messi left. Neymar was jettisoned. Verratti could be next. PSG are looking to part with the metronomic Italian, and clubs in Saudi Arabia and Qatar are lining up to oblige them. The crafty midfielder won’t come cheap, though, as Al-Hilal have learned in their negotiations with the French side.
Rich Cimini, ESPN Staff WriterAug 22, 2023, 01:01 PM ET
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Rich Cimini is a staff writer who covers the New York Jets and the NFL at ESPN. Rich has covered the Jets for over 30 years, joining ESPN in 2010. Rich also hosts the Flight Deck podcast. He previously was a beat writer for the New York Daily News and is a graduate of Syracuse University. You can follow him via Twitter @RichCimini.
FLORHAM PARK, N.J. — New York Jets coach Robert Saleh believes it’s in the best interest of the team to play quarterback Aaron Rodgers in the final preseason game, bad history and injury risk be damned.
“You can’t coach scared, you can’t play scared,” Saleh said Tuesday, confirming that Rodgers will start Saturday against the New York Giants. “You can slip out of your car and have something happen to you. Knock on wood, everyone will be fine.”
Rodgers, 39, who sat out the first three games and hasn’t played in the preseason since 2018, said he was in favor of playing even before Saleh broached the idea.
“There wasn’t much of a conversation with Robert,” Rodgers said. “I think he was a little more nervous I might have said no, but I was already leaning toward asking him to play. So, it was an easy conversation.”
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Luuk de Jong scored a late equaliser as PSV Eindhoven secured a 2-2 draw at Rangers in the first leg of their Champions League play-off round tie on Tuesday.
The Dutch giants, aiming for revenge after defeat by Rangers at the same stage of the competition last season, twice pegged back their hosts to seal a repeat of the first-leg result from 12 months ago.
Last year, Rangers edged through with a 1-0 second-leg win in the Netherlands, but will need another surprise away win next week to book a return to the group stage after an entertaining clash at Ibrox.
“I don’t think they’ll underestimate us, but they’d better not,” Rangers manager Michael Beale told TNT Sports.
“This is a PSV team who haven’t been beaten since February and we nearly did (it) tonight.”
Senegalese youngster Abdallah Sima, signed from Angers in the close-season, scored a fantastic opening goal to give Rangers a 45th-minute lead against the run of play.
Ibrahim Sangare levelled for PSV just after the hour mark and the visitors looked to be pushing for a winner until a sweeping Rangers counter-attack was finished by Rabbi Matondo.
But the Scottish side, who struggled in the Champions League group stage last season with six successive defeats, could not hold onto the lead as De Jong bundled home from a corner with 10 minutes remaining.
Royal Antwerp boosted their hopes of a first appearance in the European Cup proper since the 1957-58 season with a 1-0 first-leg win over AEK Athens in Belgium.
FC Copenhagen also moved a step closer to the group phase with a 1-0 away success over Polish champions Rakow.
