Conte breaks silence on pursuit of Chelsea flop Lukaku & Osimhen future

Tom Weber

Updated: 26 Jun 2024 20:24 BST
3 min read

Romelu Lukaku, Antonio Conte, Chelsea — © IMAGO

Antonio Conte spoke about the futures of Romelu Lukaku and Victor Osimhen at his unveiling.

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The Italian has been officially presented as Napoli's new head coach. Conte faces the challenge of improving upon last term's dire title defence when the 2023 Serie A champions only finished in a lowly 10th.

While it is expected that Conte will manage to get a tune out of this team, it is still far from clear what weapons he will have at his disposal. Khvicha Kvaratskhelia's agent and his father both caused a major stir recently by saying that the Georgian wants out.

This prompted an emphatic response from Napoli and now also from Conte, with neither willing to sanction his exit as they have resigned themselves to losing star striker Victor Osimhen.

"I know Osimhen's situation, it is different from the others," Conte said at his unveiling, clearly hinting at the Nigerian's seemingly inevitable summer exit. "There are agreements. If you ask me about the player, I will tell you that he has a very high level. I can't wade into other discussions made previously. And that I have accepted."

Conte on Lukaku

Among the top options to replace Osimhen at Napoli is Chelsea flop Romelu Lukaku. The striker previously thrived under the Italian at Inter and Conte is said to be keen to reunite with him.

However, when asked about the Belgian, the coach played coy. "Lukaku is a great player, like Osimhen, when they are there you hope to always have them on your side," Conte merely said.

Chelsea are keen to offload Lukaku this summer and it has been claimed that the 31-year-old is waiting for Napoli to make an offer, giving priority to the Italian side over Saudi clubs. However, as long as Osimhen's exit is not under wraps, the 2023 Scudetto winners are unlikely to make a move for Lukaku.