Napoli has formally submitted a transfer bid for Romelu Lukaku, a striker for Chelsea.
The 31-year-old, who spent the last two seasons on loan at Inter Milan and Roma, has been strongly linked to a return to Serie A.
This summer, securing the Belgium international is a primary objective for new Napoli boss Antonio Conte.
According to reports, Lukaku and the Italian team had already settled on personal terms last month.
Sky Sports Italy reports that Napoli has now formally submitted a bid for Lukaku that is valued at £25 million plus an additional £5 million.
However, the bid falls below Chelsea’s £35m valuation of the player and it’s thought they are unlikely to accept those terms.
Chelsea are not interested in sending Lukaku on loan for a third season in a row and want to secure a permanent deal.
Lukaku has already indicated his desire to join up with former Chelsea boss Conte and is even willing to take a pay cut to do so.
He is set to earn around £97,000-a-week before performance-related bonuses if the deal goes through.
But if bosses at Stamford Bridge reject Napoli’s approach, it could leave them struggling to offload Lukaku.
The Azzuri were previously thought to not want to buy Lukaku until Victor Osimhen was sold but have now changed their stance.
They have also indicated they are willing to divert attentions to Benfica forward David Neres if no agreement can be reached with Chelsea.
Paris Saint-Germain have held talks over Osimhen with Napoli – who aren’t willing to budge on the Nigerian’s £110.8m release clause – but haven’t agreed on a fee.
Chelsea’s deal for Atletico Madrid striker Samu Omorodion also collapsed yesterday and the club have turned their attentions to Joao Felix instead.