Napoli have made progress in talks with Chelsea and are now closing in on a move for Antonio Conte’s target striker Romelu Lukaku.

Italian journalist Fabrizio Romano, an expert on the football transfer market, reports that Napoli are entering an important stage in negotiations with Chelsea over the signing of Lukaku, with an offer now on the table for consideration.

Napoli have raised the importance of signing Lukaku as soon as possible after Conte’s first game in the 2024-25 Serie A season was a 3-0 defeat at Hellas Verona on Sunday.

There had been attempts to bring Victor Osimhen into the deal or offer him to Chelsea, but that idea has now been scrapp and the move for Lukaku would be a no-strings-attached deal.

Napoli sporting director Giovanni Manna has admitted that Osimhen’s situation has hampered plans to sign Lukaku but will now move ahead with the two parties parting ways.

Romelu Lukaku’s time at Chelsea appears to be drawing to a close as he has been sideline from the main squad. Despite his successful loan spell at AS Roma last season where he netted 21 goals and provided four assists, Lukaku is now training separately from the main team. Chelsea’s management are taking decisive steps to resolve his situation, with a clear strategy to offload him as they navigate this transfer window.

Meanwhile, The Ufabet reported that Osimhen has rejected the chance to move to the Premier League, either to Chelsea or Arsenal ยูฟ่าเบท, so he must now wait for Paris Saint-Germain with less than two weeks left before the transfer window closes.