Mourinho welcomes third opportunity to coach Lukaku but Barca may hijack deal

One of the best football coaches Jose Mourinho has opened the door for Romelu Lukaku to join Roma from Chelsea this summer.

Lukaku was intent on moving to Juventus following his season-long loan at Inter last term but the Serie A club have been unable to reach an agreement with Chelsea.

Juventus have also faced backlash from their own supporters regarding their move for Lukaku, with fans protesting against the striker’s signing during a pre-season friendly earlier this month.

Lukaku has now told Chelsea that his preference is to join Roma before the end of the transfer window and the two clubs are now in talks over a season-long loan deal.

And Mourinho, who has managed Lukaku at both Chelsea and Manchester United, has indicated that the Belgium international could join alongside Sardar Azmoun, who is set to arrive on loan from Bayer Leverkusen.

When asked about Roma’s move for Lukaku, Mourinho said on Friday: ‘I struggle to talk about Azmoun, let alone talk about Lukaku who is still a Chelsea player.

 ‘There are club coaches who choose the players and whoever arrives is the first choice. There are also in Italy, but all in England.

‘We are in a different situation and what was proposed to me by [Tiago] Pinto [Roma’s general manager] was Azmoun, not as I have read or heard my forwards, but as one of my forwards and to be one of my forwards, if the condition is good he is a footballer that can help.

‘He did very well at Zenit, he proved to be a very good player, he didn’t do well at Leverkusen which is why we can borrow him because otherwise, he would have stayed at Leverkusen.

‘When Pinto proposed Azmoun to me, he told me there would be another one. So it makes me happy if he is a quality player: Azmoun, Belotti, and others.

‘I am calm and will wait. I think about tomorrow, what we worked for this week.’

Meanwhile, Barcelona are ready to join the growing list of clubs considering a loan move for Lukaku.

Chelsea are open to selling the 30-year-old striker amid interest from the Saudi Pro League and Serie A side AS Roma.

Lukaku is not currently interested in a move to Saudi Arabia, but he is open to another spell in Italy, or elsewhere in Europe.

The former Manchester United forward has previously hinted at being open to a move to Barcelona with the latest reports from Sky Italy claiming the Catalan giants are monitoring the situation as the transfer window enters its final days.