Napoli director Giovanni Manna almost bagged one of the targets he’s been after throughout the summer during another trip to London, but not the big fish Antonio Conte covets, Romelu Lukaku. The Partenopei and the Blues are still fairly distant, Mediaset informs.
The Serie A side would like to do the deal on loan with an obligation to buy, while the Pensioners want an outright sale. They have already used three of the six available slots and would rather save the remaining ones for other transfers.
Furthermore, Napoli and Chelsea haven’t closed the gap concerning the valuation of Lukaku. The Azzurri offered €5M right away and €25M in 2025, while the Premier League giants demand €40M, granting only a small discount compared to the striker’s release clause. There’s still a €10M difference.
Instead, the Italian club has reached an agreement with Brighton for Billy Gilmour. He’ll join in a €18M move, including add-ons, once the Seagulls snap up Matt O’Riley from Celtic Glasgow. That’s easier said than done, though. Atalanta gave up after multiple offers and signed Lazar Samardzic instead. Instead, things aren’t too advanced for Manchester United’s Scott McTominay.
Our Take on Napoli and Lukaku
Many teams are convinced that time is on their side and that the counterparties will yield late just to get rid of unwanted players. That will happen in a lot of cases, but probably not all of them. Their offer is proper given his age and decline, but Antonio Conte is surely pushing an extra effort. Despite Victor Osimhen’s wish, they aren’t necessarily forced to sell him since he has two more years on his contract.
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I hope the swap deal happening soon.