Romelu Lukaku, a Belgium international, is rumored to have arranged a fee with Chelsea for the player, but his main goal is to rejoin Antonio Conte at Napoli.
After returning from two separate Serie A loan stints at Inter and subsequently Roma, where neither team attempted to make the move permanent, the striker is not a part of the Blues project.
He is now determined to work with Conte, his former Inter coach, at Napoli once more, even though the Partenopei would not meet the €35 million asking price.
Chelsea and Aston Villa had agreed on a price to sell the center forward, but he vetoed it without even talking about personal issues, according to Radio CRC and the Italian tabloid Il Mattino.
Lukaku just for Napoli
Napoli is the only offer Lukaku intends to accept this summer, and the Serie A team is certain they can wait it out to convince Chelsea to drop their demands.
However, they are unable to proceed with the move until Victor Osimhen has been sold, as no one is willing to pay the full €120 million release clause in his contract.
Osimhen could sign with Chelsea as part of the Lukaku trade, but Paris Saint-Germain is still the front-runner.
Reece James praises Enzo Maresca as “amazing” and discusses his new position at Chelsea
Enzo Maresca is a new Chelsea manager who has greatly pleased Reece James, who calls him ‘wonderful’.
After an outstanding season leading Leicester to automatic promotion back to the Premier League with 31 victories from 46 games, Maresca joined Chelsea earlier this summer.Before joining the Foxes, the Italian, who was renowned for working under Pep Guardiola at Manchester City, talked about how a Premier League team made a last-minute bid for him before he could finalize his move to Stamford Bridge.
However, James, who believes that exciting times are coming for the Blues with their new head coach, is one individual who is thrilled that Maresca committed to the position in west London.
James said in an exclusive interview with talkSPORT, “He has been amazing from the moment he came in.”He is rather clear about his goals and thoughts. Now all that needs to happen is for us to execute and be the best, which is what he desires.”
Chelsea’s preseason performance under Maresca has been, to put it mildly, inconsistent.
After a 2-2 draw with Wrexham, Celtic lost 4-1; a 3-0 victory over Club America was a significant improvement, though James feels performances are more important at this point than outcomes.
James remarked, “The preseason has been fantastic so far.””With every game, we accumulate minutes. We performed well [against Club America] yesterday, and hopefully we can continue to improve.
Preseason performance is basically not a true indicator of anything.
“With regard to the procedure we hope to have in place before the beginning of the season, we are making significant progress in the right way. I believe that should be the primary focus instead of the outcomes.”