Napoli and Chelsea continue talks over Romelu Lukaku transfer, Victor Osimhen loan

Napoli are in talks with Chelsea to sign Romelu Lukaku, while the clubs are also still discussing a deal that would see Victor Osimhen go the other way.

Any transfer for Lukaku is expected to be permanent, while talks with Osimhen are focused on a loan with an option to buy.

Should Lukaku’s move go ahead, the 31-year-old striker would be reunited with Napoli’s new head coach Antonio Conte, having previously worked together for two seasons at Inter Milan.

Lukaku spent the 2023–24 season on loan at fellow Serie A club Roma, where he scored 21 goals in 47 games in all competitions.

The Belgian international previously enjoyed the most productive period of his career under Conte at Inter, with 34 and 30 goals in 2019-20 and 2020-21 respectively.

He helped them reach the Europa League final, won the Italian title and then moved to Chelsea for £97.5million.

Osimhen scored 15 times in Serie A last season (Francesco Pecoraro/Getty Images)

Lukaku scored just 15 goals in 44 games in 2021-22, before returning to Inter and scoring 14 goals in 37 games as the team finished runners-up in the Champions League final and third in Serie A.

The attacker started his career at Anderlecht and went to Chelsea in 2011. He played temporarily at West Bromwich Albion and Everton, after which he left for Everton permanently in 2014.

After scoring 87 goals in four seasons at Goodison Park, Lukaku was sold to Manchester United in 2017, where he played for two seasons before moving to Inter.

Osimhen has now scored 76 goals in 133 games for Napoli since joining from Lille in July 2020. He scored 15 last season as Napoli endured a difficult campaign.

The Nigerian international’s influence was much greater the year before, netting 26 goals in Napoli’s race to its first Scudetto since 1990.

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(Top photos: Dirk Waem/BELGA MAG/AFP via Getty Images, Emilio Andreoli/Getty Images)