Roma will not be able to pay the €43m (£37m) needed to keep Chelsea striker Romelu Lukaku on a permanent basis if they fail to qualify for the Champions League, according to the Gazzetta Dello Sport (via Calciomercato.com).

The Belgian international has impressed during his time with the Giallorossi, scoring 14 goals in 24 appearances. However, the Serie A club are languishing 8th in the league table.

At the moment, Jose Mourinho’s side are just four points adrift of the top 4 but their performances have been very poor recently.

They drew 1-1 at home to Atalanta last time out in the league, which means they have won just once in their last five league fixtures.

What can Chelsea do about the situation?

The Blues have very little say in what happens to Lukaku at the moment. The option to buy was included in the loan deal that allowed him to make the switch to Roma in the first place.

It is therefore up to the Italian side whether they want to trigger the purchase clause between now and the end of the season.

Lukaku won’t be short of suitors if he returns to Chelsea

After struggling for form and fitness during his loan spell with Inter Milan last campaign, it was decidedly more difficult for the Blues to offload the 30-year-old back in the summer.

However, Lukaku’s performances for Roma should mean that there is plenty of demand for him if he does return to Stamford Bridge at the beginning of July.

For now, it’s hard to speculate too far into the future. Roma could yet turn their season around and finish in the Champions League places. Whatever happens, Chelsea will be taking a huge hit on the £97.5m they paid for the striker in 2021, but they will be hoping to get him off the club’s books sooner rather than later.