By Samuel A. August 25, 2024
Napoli have reportedly reached an agreement with Chelsea to sign Romelu Lukaku after weeks of negotiations. The Serie A side have agreed a deal with Chelsea Football Club to sign the 31 year old for €45m [€30m+€15m in addons].Napoli had an initial loan offer with an obligation to buy worth around £25.5m turned down by Chelsea, but the Blues have now got the fee they wanted, although it remains to be seen how attainable the €15m addons are.
Personal terms for the Belgian forward with Napoli were agreed as well in advance: a three year contract with an annual salary of just about €6 million. For Lukaku, Napoli will be his third club in Serie A: during his time at Inter, Romelu won the Scudetto – the very year that Antonio Conte managed the Nerazzurri – and last season, while on loan at Roma, the striker scored 21 goals in 47 matches across all competitions.
Napoli manager, Antonio Conte, who had already worked with the striker during his stint at Inter Milan where they won the Scudetto was specific and only wanted Lukaku in his project, after being told that Victor Osimhen had agreed with the club to leave this summer.
Rom on the other hand, whom Chelsea have been wanting to flood all summer, was also keen on the move, as his loan spell with Roma already ended and he was keen on working with his former coach.
Lukaku’s departure opens up the possibility of axed out Victor Osimhen moving to Stamford Bridge and more talks are reportedly scheduled for the coming days. As it stands Chelsea are only interested in a loan, which doesn’t appeal to Osimhen or Napoli, whilst the Nigerian isn’t prepared to lower his salary demands and it looks like this saga could head to the final day.
