Lukaku Keeps Up Dated Tradition in First Napoli Game

While the Victor Osimhen case marred the final hours of the transfer window for Napoli, Romelu Lukaku showed up on his debut, hitting the net about half an hour after coming off the bench and starting the Azzurri’s late comeback.

Per La Gazzetta dello Sport, the Belgian has delivered like clockwork in his first appearances since switching sides. Fifteen years ago, he found the target in his first game with Anderlecht against Zulte Waregem. He was only 16 at the time.

Lukaku was loaned out to West Brom after being acquired by Chelsea and opened his account ten minutes after entering the Liverpool game in the first round. The following year, he capped off a furious rally by Everton against West Ham with five minutes to go.

The marksman moved to Manchester United after four years with the Toffees. In this case, his first goal arrived in the Super Cup against Real Madrid, although the Red Devils were ultimately defeated. He had a brace against West Ham in the Premier League a few days later.

Lukaku transferred to Inter in 2019 and didn’t fail to make a good first impression, contributing to a romp against Lecce. Back at Chelsea in 2021, he punished Arsenal 15 minutes into that season’s opener. He headed back to Milan the following summer after growing disgruntled and needed just a minute and a half to score versus the Salentini again. He couldn’t manage to replicate his heroics only with Roma among his most recent destinations. He didn’t make the stat sheet versus Milan in last season’s round one but filled his boots in the ensuing five rounds.