Milan (AFP)
Napoli, the Italian Football League champion for the 2022-2023 season, has signed Belgian international striker Romelu Lukaku from English club Chelsea, according to the southern club’s announcement.
Club president Aurelio De Laurentiis confirmed the deal, which will reportedly cost around $33.2 million, on social media, writing: “Welcome Romelu,” alongside a photo of the player signing a three-year contract.
Lukaku (31 years old) will remain in Italy, where he played for Roma and Inter in the past two seasons on loan from the English club, noting that he was a player for the “Nerazzurri” between 2019 and 2021.
The striker played a major role in Inter’s 2021 league title triumph under new manager Antonio Conte, before moving to Chelsea in a $110 million deal that summer.
Lukaku did not perform as expected after his return to Stamford Bridge, and clubs were unable to make suitable offers to sign him for a large sum, which led to his loan to Inter in 2022-2023, where he did not play much due to injury.
His final move to the club fell through after the club discovered he had been in contact with arch rivals Milan and Juventus, so the player and his club Chelsea eventually agreed to a new loan deal with Roma.
The capital club showed no interest in paying a large sum to keep the striker, something Conte exploited to reunite with a striker whose reputation has been tarnished in recent years, but who is Belgium’s all-time top scorer with 85 goals in 119 games.
Lukaku is expected to replace Nigerian striker Victor Osimhen, who has yet to play for the team in the league due to his desire to leave the southern club.
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