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Antonio Conte wants to sign £98m Chelsea player but his move could be rejected

Lucas Arnold

Thu 6 June 2024 8:15, UK

Newly-appointed Napoli boss Antonio Conte is now interested in signing a player from his former club Chelsea, but his interest could be rejected. 

With Enzo Maresca🌳 at the helm this season, Chelsea are heading in a different direction to last.

Mauricio Pochettinoꦑ is renowned for high-pressing, offensively orientated football, something that seemingly wasn’t an issue with the Chelsea top-brass.

🃏However, his relationship off the field had become untenable with those higher up, leading to this new era under Maresca.

♌As a result, Chelsea are expected to be a possession based side moving forward, with a real focus on positional play.

❀And with that in mind, it’ll be interesting to see which players are deemed suitable or not, including those returning from loan.

𓃲Maresca certainly has a clear idea of who he wants to add if reports are to be believed: a sweeper-keeper, a left-back and a forward.

And with four Chelsea players already expected to depart, there could definitely be a fifth given that Romelu Lukaku is now returning from his loan.

Antonio Conte wants to take Romelu Lukaku to Napoli but Chelsea will reject loans

🔥With a Chelsea contract until 2026, it currently seems unlikely that 31-year-old Lukaku will be seen on the Stamford Bridge pitch once again.

🦄And according to a report by the , there is plenty of interest from Italy to see Lukaku play another season of Serie A football.

💮On loan at Roma last campaign, the club are interested in re-signing Lukaku, but would struggle to meet Chelsea’s asking price of around £37m.

ꦡChelsea are hoping to recoup some of the £98m they paid Inter Milan to sign Lukaku in 2021 – a deal that has been a bit of a disaster.

And unfortunately for Chelsea🦂, it doesn’t seem as if any of the interested clubs from Italy would match that asking price.

🔯AC Milan and Conte’s Napoli are also keen on a move – but Chelsea have made it clear that they would reject any loan approaches this season, given they finally desire a permanent exit.

Of course, Lukaku’s potential exit could pave the way for Chelsea to sign RB Leipzig’s Benjamin Sesko – who is a priority target for the club this summer.

Victor Osimhen🀅 interest has cooled, partly because of his price but also his unsuitability to Maresca’s football.

And it now seems as if Sesko❀ will be the go-to signing, a 21-year-old showing a ton of potential.