The Saudis are to blame for Lukaku's transfer failure

At the end of June, Romel Lukaku was the subject of a massive Al-Hilal bid worth 45 million pounds. But, the Belgian international refused the offer and shocked the world. Apparently, he wanted only to sign for Inter, where he spent the entire season on loan. But Chelsea didn’t want another loan; they wanted a permanent transfer for Lukaku, as he had no future at Stamford Bridge, so they looked in shock when he refused the deal. But astonishingly, after the transfer window was over, his agent claimed that actually, Saudi clubs were to blame for why his client didn’t leave the club permanently.

"It was very difficult for European clubs to buy Lukaku. It was even impossible at the start of the transfer window to talk about a loan solution. The owners of Chelsea were looking for a definitive solution, a transaction, a permanent transfer. And the real change that happened this summer was the arrival of Saudi clubs on the international transfer market. They have set the bar so high in terms of the transfer compensation offered to European clubs, and in this case to Chelsea, that it has become very difficult for European clubs to line up and therefore, on the one hand, you have a club that is not opposed to a transfer” said Lukaku’s agent, Sebastien Ledure, speaking to Belgian RTL.

Lukaku officially signs for Roma and reunites with Mourinho

Of course, this would be true if there was a single club in Europe who tried to buy Lukaku. And there wasn’t. Inter Milan, one of the clubs with the biggest financial problems, could never offer 45 million pounds to Chelsea, and they only wanted a loan. No other club would touch Lukaku permanently, not at least at this price, due to his recent form and injury concerns, so another loan was the only solution for Chelsea in the end, and Roma profited. Jose Mourinho is a proven player who can help his team, but it’s a big question if he will have a great season in Serie A. And after that, another June and another attempted sale.