Napoli confirm permanent signing of Romelu Lukaku from Chelsea

Napoli have announced the permanent signing of Chelsea striker Romelu Lukaku.

The Serie A club said on their official website that “Napoli formalizes the permanent purchase of Romelu Lukaku from Chelsea” but have not disclosed the length of his contract, nor the fee paid to the Londoners.

It has been reported that the 31-year-old has signed a three-year deal for a fee of around £30million to be reunited with Napoli manager Antonio Conte, who he played under at Inter Milan when they won the Italian title in 2021.

“Antonio Conte is the coach with whom Romelu Lukaku has scored the most goals in the top five European leagues: 47 goals in 72 appearances, on average one goal scored every 125 minutes played,” Napoli said.

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The Belgium international returned to Chelsea soon after Inter’s title success, but endured a disappointing second spell at Stamford Bridge, scoring eight league goals in 26 appearances before successive season-long loan spells at Inter and Roma.

Lukaku’s first spell at Chelsea – they signed him from Anderlecht for £18m in 2011 – ended on loan at Everton, who signed him permanently for £28m in 2014.

He moved on to Manchester United for £75m in 2017, scoring 42 goals in 96 appearances in all competitions, before hitting top form in his first spell at Inter – they signed him in 2019 for £74m – where he scored 47 goals in 72 Serie A games.