31-year-old flop ready to force his way out of Chelsea with Antonio Conte’s Napoli in the hunt

Chelsea are willing to accept Romelu Lukaku discount for Serie A club Napoli

According to a report from Italian outlet Kiss Kiss Napoli (h/t Area Napoli), Romelu Lukaku is ready to fight his way out of Chelsea and join Serie A side Napoli this summer.

After an underwhelming last season in Serie A, Napoli have hired Antonio Conte as their new head coach to change their fortunes. The Italian tactician is a well-respected manager across the continent, and having worked with Romelu Lukaku at one of his former clubs Inter Milan and won the Scudetto a couple of years ago, he wants to reunite with the striker in Naples.

The aforementioned report (h/t Area Napoli) claims Antonio Conte is pushing to bring the Belgium international, who is back to Chelsea after completing a loan spell with AS Roma. The 31-year-old centre-forward doesn’t fit into the Blues’ plans moving forward and will be sold.

Lukaku has a £37m release clause in his contract at Chelsea until 2026 (Transfermarkt), but with the striker pushing to leave Stamford Bridge this year, the report adds that the West London outfit are now prepared to accept a discount to free him from their wage bill.

Since Conte’s appointment, Lukaku has become Napoli’s primary target to potentially replace Victor Osimhen as the main man in their attack next season. The Chelsea outcast has had several approaches from Saudi Arabian clubs but he doesn’t want to leave European football so soon and remains keen to team up with Conte once again.

Chelsea would know that Lukaku’s signing hasn’t worked out at all. The Pensioners, who are moving into a new direction under Enzo Maresca, clearly have no room for the Belgium international in the squad and want to offload him from their books. The 31-year-old wants to leave Stamford Bridge permanently as well, having found his mojo again in Serie A.

The Antwerp-born star had a fruitful 2023/24 season with AS Roma, bagging 21 goals and four assists in 47 appearances across all competitions. His stock has risen after proving himself to be a reliable goalscorer in Serie A once again, which should only help Chelsea get a decent fee from his potential sale.

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There is no doubt that Lukaku is still good enough to play at the highest level. He can work wonders under the tutelage of Conte and has the qualities to transform Napoli’s attack. That said, we must look to quickly offload the big Belgian and reinvest the money from his sale to address the pressing issues in Enzo Maresca’s squad.