'King of Rome' — Romelu Lukaku arrives at Roma to a hero's reception

Romelu Lukaku was given a hero’s welcome as he touched down in Rome on Tuesday ahead of completing his season-long loan move to Roma from Chelsea.

Around 5,000 Roma fans greeted Lukaku at Rome’s Ciampino airport, south east of the city, and waved flags and displayed banners that read ‘Big Rom, new king of Rome’ and ‘Romelu Lukaku, I’m waiting for you, I’m your Juliet’. A mural of the striker has also already been painted in Rione Monti.

Lukaku’s move to Roma is due to be formally completed on Wednesday, with Chelsea to receive a loan fee of over £5 million after the 30-year-old agreed to drop his wages to just over £6 million for 10 months in Italy.

As revealed by Telegraph Sport, Chelsea have also included a £37 million buy-out in Lukaku’s new contract variation, setting the price should Roma, or another club, want to sign him permanently at the end of the season.

Chelsea had been insistent they would not allow Lukaku to leave on loan for a second successive summer, but the impasse was eventually broken by Roc Nation Sports, who also brokered the Belgian’s return to Inter Milan last summer.

Roc Nation’s relationship with Chelsea’s owners proved vital to finding a resolution to Lukaku’s situation, which had threatened to remain unresolved after he turned down a permanent move to Saudi Arabia, effectively sabotaging interest from Inter Milan after they had seen two bids rejected and decided he did not want to move to Juventus.

That backed Chelsea into a corner, but Roc Nation managed to help negotiate an extraordinary deal that has eventually satisfied all parties.

Speaking to Telegraph Sport, a Roma official said: “The owners of AS Roma are committed to ensuring that a deal with Lukaku is done. The club has improved year on year with the Friedkin family’s investment and they see him as a core part of their vision for the club to achieve their best result yet, and finish top four in Serie A.”

A source close to the Friedkin family added: “The Friedkin family are highly engaged and committed to building AS Roma to achieve the glory the club and the fans deserve. Dan and Ryan’s efforts and investment are clearly seen in deals such as this, bringing world class players such as Lukaku to be a part of their vision.”

Having agreed a deal for Lukaku to join Roma on loan, Chelsea are now in negotiations for defender Trevoh Chalobah to join Bayern Munich before the transfer window shuts on Friday night

Bayern would prefer to sign Chalobah on loan for the season, while Chelsea are attempting to negotiate a permanent deal.