Romelu Lukaku of Chelsea and Napoli have reached a personal terms agreement, according to Italian media.
After letting the 31-year-old join Roma on loan last season, Chelsea is hoping to let go of him permanently this summer.
Since Lukaku joined Napoli last month, Antonio Conte has made the player’s acquisition one of his top priority, and the former Chelsea manager is getting closer to achieving one of his main transfer goals.
Lukaku and Napoli have reached an agreement on a three-year deal that would pay about £97,000 per week before performance-based bonuses, according to Sky Sports Italy.
Paris Saint-Germain have held extensive talks with Napoli for Osimhen but the Serie A club are reluctant to accept a fee that’s lower than his €130m (£110.8m) clause – a demand which has put off both Chelsea and Arsenal.
The French champions are said to be exploring the possibility of offering €100m (£84.3m) plus a player as part of their bid.
Osimhen’s agent, Roberto Calenda, travelled to Paris earlier this week in order to speed up negotiations.
Speaking this week, Conte insisted that he had no issue with Osimhen’s transfer delaying Napoli’s summer arrivals.
‘The situation was already very clear,’ Conte told Rai Sport.
‘I was aware of it. It’s all going as planned. To me, it’s not a surprise to wait. We face every situation in the right way
‘As I said, first, we re-aligned, now we evaluate, and then there will be sales and new signings. The vision is very clear. There will be no problems.’
CHELSEA SUMMER SIGNINGS 2024
Tosin Adarabioyo (from Fulham, free transfer)
Marc Guiu (Barcelona, £5m)
Omari Kellyman (Aston Villa, £19m)
Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall (Leicester City, £30m)
Renato Veiga (FC Basel, £12m)
Lukaku, meanwhile, made it clear in an interview with RTL last month that he would be open to joining Napoli and being reunited with Conte after they won the Serie A title together at Inter three years ago.
‘I’ve already figured it out in my head. I know what will happen,’ Lukaku said.
‘A lot of people like to talk, maybe because I don’t have a real estate agent. But I’m going to decide. I am in control of my situation.
‘I’m going to make a choice and once I explain it, everyone will agree with me.
‘Look, every time I decided to stay or leave somewhere, certain factors – for example my relationship with the coach – turned out to be the right choice.
‘It’s like having a relationship with a woman. If we don’t click anymore, why stay together?’