Everton urged to make ambitious move for £97.5m Chelsea outcast Pochettino will offload this summer | OneFootball

Roma-bound Chelsea striker Romelu Lukaku on the bench for Inter Milan

Chelsea striker Romelu Lukaku is reportedly close to joining Roma on a season-long loan after he decided against joining Juventus.

The Belgium international has been training with the Chelsea under-21s squad recently and isn’t in Mauricio Pochettino’s plans for this season.

A return to the Serie A now seems likely, with Lukaku keen on reuniting with his former manager Jose Mourinho at the Stadio Olimpico.

This is despite interest from Tottenham, who considered bringing in Lukaku as a replacement for Harry Kane.

According to The Telegraph, the striker is now ‘expected’ to sign for Roma on a season-long loan, with no option to buy included in the deal.

This is despite the fact that Chelsea would prefer to offload Lukaku permanently this summer and try and recoup some of the £97.5m they spent on him. His wage of £325,000 per week has proved to be a stumbling block in that regard, though.

Lukaku ‘hasn’t even spoken’ to Pochettino, with the manager set to rely on Nicolas Jackson to be his main striker this season.

Lukaku flourished in the Serie A with Inter Milan last term, netting 14 goals in all competitions for the Italian giants. He also played a key role in helping them reach the Champions League final.

The 30-year-old will be hoping for similar success at Roma if he finalises his loan to them, as expected.

Former Arsenal player Ray Parlour thinks, however, that Everton should make an ambitious move to re-sign Lukaku this summer.

The striker spent three successful years at Goodison Park, scoring 87 goals in 166 appearances. He remains their all-time top scorer in the Premier League.

Everton are currently in the market for a new striker. Dominic Calvert-Lewin is once again sidelined with an injury, while Neal Maupay has scored just one goal in 31 appearances.

The Toffees are currently pursuing deals for Southampton’s Che Adams and Udinese’s Beto. Due to a lack of transfer funds, however, they are struggling to bring both players in at the moment.

With that in mind, loaning Lukaku could be an ideal solution for Everton, if they can agree a favourable wage split with Chelsea.

Speaking on Lukaku’s future, Parlour told talkSPORT: “Well I’m just thinking, what about Everton?

“I know they’re not struck with a lot of money at the moment, but could they get him on loan?

“Because he did really well at Everton, didn’t he? Maybe the Everton fans will say we need a better strike force at the moment, maybe [Romelu] Lukaku fits in there?”

Roma are still the big favourites to sign Lukaku on loan this summer, but it would be interesting if Everton did make an last-minute attempt to re-sign Lukaku.