Romelu Lukaku Willing to Take Half His Salary Cut to Join Napoli

LONDON – Romelu Lukaku willing to have his salary cut in half by Chelsea in order to join Napoli this summer. However, the two clubs have yet to agree on a price.

After being loaned to AS Roma last season, Lukaku is not in Chelsea’s plans for next season. As a result, he has been offered to a number of clubs so that he can leave Stamford Bridge soon.

However, the Belgian striker only wanted to move to Napoli because he wanted to reunite with his former coach at Inter Milan, Antonio Conte. As a result, he rejected all offers that came from other clubs, including the Saudi Arabian League club.

According to Football Italia, Saturday (20/7/2024), Lukaku has reached a personal agreement with Partinopei. Reportedly, he is ready to sign a three-year contract with the 2022/2023 Italian League champions.

The contract value itself is reportedly 6 million Euros (Rp105.9 billion) per season plus performance-related bonuses. This figure is far below the salary he received per season at Chelsea, which was 11 million Euros (Rp194 billion).

The 31-year-old striker really only wants to join Napoli. However, the Blues’ asking price is still above what the Serie A giants can afford.

The report stated that Chelsea was ready to lower Lukaku’s price from 44 million Euros (Rp777 billion) to 35 million Euros (Rp618 billion) plus bonuses. However, Napoli was only able to offer 25 million Euros (Rp441.5 billion).

Further negotiations are also predicted to take place next week to narrow the price gap between the two parties to smooth Lukaku’s path to Napoli. Reportedly, Antonio Conte’s team is reluctant to spend a large amount for the former Manchester United striker because they are still waiting for the sale of Viktor Osimhen to Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) so that they can get fresh funds.

(fly)