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Chelsea defender Kallidou Koulibaly has reportedly urged Romelu Lukaku to join Saudi Arabian side Al Hilal with him. The Senegal international is believed to be closing in on a move to the Saudi Pro League.
According to Gazzetta dello Sport (via the Express), Koulibaly wants the Belgian to accept Al Hilal's lucrative offer. The club are offering him a contract worth £77 million, and he will certainly become one of the faces of the league should he make the move.
Lukaku, 30, spent the 2022-23 season on loan at Inter Milan, who're eager to have him again. The Italian club are yet to reach an agreement with Chelsea, though, and the striker is set to return to Stamford Bridge on the expiry of his loan deal this month.
Koulibaly, meanwhile, arrived just last season from Napoli but failed to adapt to the Premier League and is now closing in on a move to Al Hilal. Inter were interested in signing the defender on loan, but Chelsea only wanted a permanent sale.
Al Hilal are reportedly paying close to €25 million to the Blues for Koulibaly's signature. Along with the defender, Hakim Ziyech and Edouard Mendy are also on their way to Saudi with Al Nassr and Al Ahli, respectively (via transfer expert Fabrizio Romano).
Though Lukaku and Koulidbaly are both contracted to the Blues, they haven't played together, as the former was in Italy for the entirety of last season.
Chelsea striker Romelu Lukaku's lawyer insists his client doesn't want to leave Europe
While some reports claim that Koulibaly is trying to convince Lukaku to move to Saudi Arabia, the Belgian's lawyer has dismissed such suggestions, claiming that his client wants to stay in Europe.
Lukaku’s lawyer Sebastien Ledure told Fabrizio Romano that Inter are trying to convince the Blues, as things stand:
“Romelu wants to stay in Europe, and he has confirmed this by not moving to Saudi Arabia now. There are no talks ongoing with AC Milan (reportedly interested).
“Inter have the ball in their court, but Chelsea's position is that interested clubs have to present a firm offer."
Lukaku scored 14 goals in 37 games for the Nerazzurri in the 2022/23 term. Overall, across two stints, the Belgian has 78 goals in 132 appearances for them.
