Outgoing Chelsea star urges 30-year-old teammate to accept £77m offer and join him at Saudi club - Reports

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.

Fabrizio Romano

@FabrizioRomano

Fee for Kalidou Koulibaly to Al Hilal will be close to €25m. Clubs preparing all the documents now in London. twitter.com/fabrizioromano…

Fabrizio Romano

@FabrizioRomano

Understand Al Hilal are now closing in on Kalidou Koulibaly deal, here we go! #CFC #AlHilal

Verbal agreement reached with Chelsea.

Personal terms also agreed on a three year contract — he’ll join Rúben Neves.

Contracts now being checked… and then signed.

Here we go

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Understand Al Hilal are now closing in on Kalidou Koulibaly deal, here we go! 🚨🔵🇸🇦 #CFC #AlHilal

Verbal agreement reached with Chelsea.

Personal terms also agreed on a three year contract — he’ll join Rúben Neves.

Contracts now being checked… and then signed.

Here we go 🇸🇳 https://t.co/2616cqGMlU

Fee for Kalidou Koulibaly to Al Hilal will be close to €25m. Clubs preparing all the documents now in London. ⌛️🇸🇦 twitter.com/fabrizioromano…

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.

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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."

Fabrizio Romano

@FabrizioRomano

EXCLUSIVE: Lukaku’s lawyer Sebastien Ledure

◉ “No talks ongoing with AC Milan”.

◉ “Romelu wants to stay in Europe; confirmed this by not joining Saudi now”.

◉ “Chelsea position: interested clubs have to present a firm offer”.

◉ “Inter have the ball in their court”.

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EXCLUSIVE: Lukaku’s lawyer Sebastien Ledure ⤵️🔵🇧🇪

◉ “No talks ongoing with AC Milan”.

◉ “Romelu wants to stay in Europe; confirmed this by not joining Saudi now”.

◉ “Chelsea position: interested clubs have to present a firm offer”.

◉ “Inter have the ball in their court”. https://t.co/Zq8cT1sZb2

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.

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