Napoli launch bid for Chelsea outcast Romelu Lukaku as Antonio Conte eyes reunion with the Blues striker – with the two clubs also locked in talks over potential deal for Victor Osimhen
- Napoli have increased interest in Chelsea striker Romelu Lukaku
- Meanwhile, Chelsea are keen to complete a deal for Napoli’s Victor Osimhen
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Napoli have made an offer to sign Romelu Lukaku on loan with an option to buy for £25.5million.
Lukaku, who joined Chelsea for £98million in 2021, was left out of Enzo Maresca’s squad for the team’s 2-0 defeat to Manchester City on Sunday and has not played for the Blues in more than two years.
He spent the last two seasons on loan at Internazionale and Roma respectively, and now he could return to Italy to play for a third club.
Chelsea are keen to make a permanent sale for a fee closer to Lukaku’s £36m buyout fee as the forward has two years left on his contract at Stamford Bridge.
Meanwhile, Chelsea and Napoli are still in talks over Victor Osimhen, although any deal would be separate to the deal for Lukaku.
Napoli have made an offer to sign Chelsea striker Romelu Lukaku on an initial loan deal
Antonio Conte is eyeing a reunion with the striker he worked with at Internazionale
Chelsea and Napoli are also in talks over a separate deal for Victor Osimhen
Osimhen has scored 76 goals in 133 games for Napoli over the past four years and led the club to the Serie A title in 2022-23, but was not named in the squad for their first match of the season on Sunday.
That match turned out to be a disaster for new manager Antonio Conte, who saw his team lose 3-0 to Verona.
He is now keen to bring Lukaku back to Italy, having previously worked with the attacker at Inter.
Lukaku and Conte played together for two seasons at Inter, from 2019 to 2021. Lukaku scored 47 league goals and won the title in his second season at San Siro, before a lucrative move to Chelsea.
But things didn’t work out for him in West London. After just one season at Chelsea, he was loaned out to Inter, where he helped the club reach the Champions League final, only to lose narrowly to City.
Last season he returned to Italy and scored 21 goals in all competitions for Roma.
A move to Napoli could be the next step as Conte and co. look to bounce back from their humiliating opening day defeat.
Chelsea remain active in the transfer market and on Monday evening it was announced that they have reached an agreement with Atlético Madrid to sign Joao Felix on a six-year contract.
Felix spent the second half of the 2022-23 season on loan at Chelsea, before returning to Spain to play a season at Barcelona.
Felix’s arrival should pave the way for Conor Gallagher to complete his move to Atlético after the transfer stalled last week, with the England midfielder flying back to London to train with Chelsea’s Under-21s.