Neither Chelsea nor Lukaku were satisfied with Lukaku’s £97.5 million return to Stamford Bridge in 2021; the striker’s desire to leave was obvious within the first few months of his return to West London.
Two loan spells back in Serie A have followed the former Manchester United attacker’s revelation, soon after joining, that he wanted out of Thomas Tuchel’s system and wanted to return to Italy.
After two loan periods at Inter Milan and Roma, where he had moderate success, Lukaku has been heavily predicted to make a return to the Italian Serie A with Antonio Conte’s Napoli.
Upon assuming control in Naples, the former Blues and Tottenham Hotspur manager wasted no time in rekindling the strong friendship he had developed with 31-year-old Lukaku during their time together at Inter.
In the sale of Romelu Lukaku, Chelsea “to receive up to £38.2m.”According to Fabrizio Romano, after a long period of negotiations, Chelsea and Napoli have reached a verbal agreement over a deal for Romelu Lukaku. The Italian club could wind up spending a total of €45 million (£38.2 million) on the player.
After signing a three-year deal with Napoli, Belgium international Romelu Lukaku will receive a guaranteed €30 million (£25.5 million) from the Blues, with a further €15 million (£12.7 million) attainable through performance-related add-ons.
After a disappointing second stint with Chelsea—he left in 2014 after failing to score in his first fifteen appearances—Lukaku has finally decided to join Antonio Conte’s squad permanently.
After three years back, Lukaku is making his second exit from Stamford Bridge. He has 59 games played for the Blues, scoring 15 goals and assisting on another two. The club stands to lose more than £70 million on him.
After new Chelsea head coach Enzo Maresca took over, the striker and other misfits including Raheem Sterling, Conor Gallagher, and Trevoh Chalobah began training separately from the main group.
Lukaku leaves to speed up Victor Osimhen’s chase?Concerns about Chelsea’s pursuit of Victor Osimhen, a current Partenopei marksman, are sure to surface when Romelu Lukaku packs up his Chelsea locker for good. The Belgian is reportedly joining Napoli.
Given the teams’ interest in each striker and the rumors that the Blues could add Cesare Casadei to the mix, a part-exchange deal appeared to be the best course of action earlier in the transfer window.
Nevertheless, it appears that Lukaku will be joining Napoli on his own accord, leaving Chelsea to negotiate a separate financial or player-plus-cash deal for Osimhen.
The Nigerian’s departure from Naples was previously delayed due to the Lukaku discussions, but it appears that nothing is now preventing him from continuing, barring any unexpected complications with the Lukaku transaction.
It is said that Napoli president Aurelio de Laurentiis is still demanding €100 million (£84.8 million) in order to sell Osimhen, therefore it is not surprising that the deal will go down to the final minute.