After a breakthrough in talks, Napoli are now close to signing Romelu Lukaku from Chelsea.

Lukaku will now join Napoli for a fee of about £30m on a permanent deal that will include a sell-on clause.

Napoli manager Antonio Conte is very much keen on signing Romelu Lukaku under whom the Belgian enjoyed two prolific seasons for Inter Milan from 2019 to 2021.

Lukaku was signed for a second stint at Chelsea in 2021 for £97.5m, but it didn’t work as expected for the Belgian.

Lukaku has spent the past two seasons on loan in Italy, first at Inter and then with Roma last season.

It remains possible the transfer could lead to Victor Osimhen moving in the opposite direction, with Chelsea preferring an initial loan deal for the Nigeria forward.

Lukaku has not played for the Blues since May 2022.