Chelsea could explore the opportunity to facilitate a reunion between Antonio Conte and Romelu Lukaku at Napoli as they continue their pursuit of Victor Osimhen.

Osimhen is eager to join the Premier League, but it appears that Chelsea and Arsenal, among other suitors, are put off by his exorbitant price tag. Although bids haven’t yet come through, Paris Saint Germain and a few Saudi Arabian teams are also interested.

While Napoli are believed to be willing to knock as much as €10m off their asking price for the Nigeria international, they will not dip below the €100m mark.

The mention of a swap deal is enough to set eyes rolling but Napoli boss Conte is believed to be eager to sign Lukaku in the current transfer window.

Chelsea have put a €45m price tag on Lukaku and could use Conte’s interest to push through a rare high-profile swap.

After working together to win Inter Milan the Serie A title in 2021, Conte is eager to work with the Belgian striker again.

Lukaku might have been be in the finest physical form of his career thanks to Conte’s assistance at Inter, and the results were remarkable.

With 24 goals and 11 assists to lead Inter to the Scudetto, Lukaku is now primed for Conte to rekindle the connection at Napoli.

Lukaku swap could help Chelsea bag top target

Reports out of Italy suggest that Napoli are ready to swoop for Lukaku while Chelsea have yet to commit to Osimhen.

“Lukaku is waiting for Conte and, above all, he would like to leave immediately, in the next few days, to start the season from the beginning and not have to wait until late summer to fit into a new group,” the report reads.

“A permanent farewell is the ideal solution for the English club, which would be satisfied with a figure lower than the 37.5 million pound clause, around 44 million euros. To let him leave, the English club would also accept 20-25 million euros.

“Lukaku wants Napoli, but De Laurentiis is waiting for Osimhen’s possible farewell before making any new considerations.”

Osimhen is said to have made up his mind about leaving Napoli in March but he has become frustrated at a lack of concrete offers from clubs that he wants to join.

It has been suggested that he is not keen on a move to Paris or Saudi Arabia and has set his heart on playing in the Premier League.