A potential deal between Chelsea and Napoli that would see Romelu Lukaku included in a move for Victor Osimhen could be dependent on Napoli securing European football for next season.
That’s according Gazzetta dello Sport, who cover the situation today and how it all depends on Napoli getting back into Europe first.
They explain that Aurelio De Laurentiis wants to completely renovate Napoli’s squad this summer after a disappointing campaign.
Plans are already in place to do just that but having a place in Europe brings a ‘wealth of resources and prestige’ that even winning the league does not.
Having Europe, or not having it, to offer significantly changes Napoli’s bargaining power and that is very much the case when it comes to the proposed deal with Chelsea for Osimhen.
One of the proposals on the table is for Chelsea to pay €80-90m and include Lukaku in the deal and that ‘would be more feasible’ if the Italian club could guarantee Lukaku he would be playing in Europe again next season.
That discussion would be more of a case of being appealing than purely financially better, but the belief is that even being in the Conference League would help matters greatly in the potential deal with the Chelsea man.
Thus, matters are unlikely to move forward significantly until Napoli know where they stand and what they can offer.
