Napoli are in ongoing discussions with Chelsea to sign Romelu Lukaku, while dialogue between the clubs also continues about a deal for Victor Osimhen to head in the opposite direction.
It is expected that any move for Lukaku would be permanent, whereas the Osimhen talks centre on a loan with an option to buy.
Should the Lukaku switch progress, it would see the 31-year-old striker reunited with new Napoli head coach Antonio Conte. They previously worked together for two seasons at Inter Milan.
Lukaku spent the 2023-24 campaign on loan at another Serie A side, Roma, where he scored 21 goals across all competitions in 47 matches.
The Belgium international previously enjoyed the most productive run of his career under Conte at Inter, scoring 34 and 30 goals in 2019-20 and 2020-21 respectively.
He helped them reach the Europa League final before winning the Italian title and then joined Chelsea for £97.5million.
Osimhen scored 15 times in Serie A last season (Francesco Pecoraro/Getty Images)
Lukaku found the net only 15 times across 44 games in 2021-22, subsequently returning to Inter and scoring 14 goals in 37 matches as they finished as runners-up the Champions League final and third in Serie A.
The forward began his career at Anderlecht and joined Chelsea in 2011. He had temporary spells at West Bromwich Albion and Everton, transferring permanently to Everton in 2014.
After 87 goals in four seasons at Goodison Park, Lukaku was sold to Manchester United in 2017. He spent two seasons there before joining Inter.
Osimhen, meanwhile, has 76 goals in 133 appearances for Napoli since joining from Lille in July 2020. He scored 15 last season as Napoli endured a difficult campaign.
The Nigeria international’s influence was far greater a year earlier, contributing 26 goals in Napoli’s run to a first Scudetto since 1990.
(Top photos: Dirk Waem/BELGA MAG/AFP via Getty Images, Emilio Andreoli/Getty Images)
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