Napoli are ready to welcome Romelu Lukaku in a €30m deal from Chelsea, but the Partenopei are making an exception for Antonio Conte, given that they’ve always been reluctant to spend big on over 30 players.
Napoli and Lukaku’s lawyers are currently working on the final details of the striker’s contract before the ex-Roma and Inter star returns to Serie A and reunites with Antonio Conte.
The Partenopei will pay at least €30m for a striker who turned 31 in May.
Lukaku transfer is Napoli’s exception for Conte
This is something Napoli haven’t been accustomed to during the Aurelio De Laurentiis era. ADL, in fact, usually spends big on players who can raise their value at the club and be sold for a higher transfer fee.
Konstantinos Manolas is the oldest player among Napoli’s top-10 most expensive signings. The ex-Greece international was 28 when he joined the club in the summer of 2019.
Gonzalo Higuain, their third-most expensive signing ever, was 25 when he switched from Real Madrid to Napoli in 2013.
Equally impressive about the Lukaku deal is that Napoli reached an agreement for the Belgian before selling Victor Osimhen, hoping to please Conte and give a much-needed boost to the whole team after a shocking 3-0 loss to Hellas Verona in the opening Serie A game of the season last week.
Napoli host Bologna at the Stadio Maradona on Sunday, August 25, in the next league game.