Antonio Conte and Romelu Lukaku Are Back Together – Will the Gamble Pay off for Napoli?

At long last, Antonio Conte has his man. Or should that be his men.

Napoli have agreed a deal for Romelu Lukaku with Chelsea and are set to complete the signing of Scott McTominay from Manchester United before the transfer window shuts on Friday.

The two arrivals should go some way towards placating Conte, who has repeatedly demanded signings since he was unveiled as Napoli manager in June.

The Azzurri spent €40m (£34m) on Torino captain Alessandro Buongiorno, signed defender Rafa Marin from Real Madrid and snapped up Euro 2020 winner Leonardo Spinazzola on a free. 

But a two-month stasis followed, much to Conte’s frustration.

“A total rebuild is needed,” he thundered before Napoli were thrashed 3-0 at the Bentegodi by Verona in the opening game of the season.

“From the foundations. When a team puts 10 or 12 players on the transfer market, it means there’s a rebuild underway and it’s going to take time, patience, humility from the fanbase and understanding. 

“We can’t allow ourselves to get carried away.”

Chelsea have looked to offload Lukaku for the past two years and last summer they inserted a £37.8m clause in his contract before he joined Roma on loan.

The significance of the Belgian’s arrival is two-fold.

Lukaku, who underwent his medical on Wednesday, is one of Conte’s most-trusted lieutenants and played his best football under him at Inter Milan.

Will Conte and Lukaku work miracles again?

The Nerazzurri signed him for a club record £74m in Conte’s first summer in charge and proved worth every penny, scoring 23 Serie A goals in his first season and 24 the following term – his second-best return in a league season after scoring 25 for Everton in 2016-17 – as Inter won the Scudetto for the first time in 11 years.

But Conte departed the San Siro less than three weeks after clinching the title, with Lukaku following him through the departure gate two months later as he joined Chelsea for £97m.

The admiration and mutual respect between the two was clear.

“Conte is a really good coach because he is someone who helps players to develop a lot,” Lukaku said of his time at Inter Milan.

“I needed and wanted a coach like this, one who motivates me every day. I’m really happy to be here and to be wearing this shirt.”

Similarly, Conte has never shied away from praising Lukaku. When the Belgians struggled to find his feet during a disastrous second spell at Stamford Bridge, it was his former manager who leapt to his defence.

“He is a very specific striker. Bringing Lukaku into the box, he is dangerous,” Conte told Sky Italia in 2021.

“However, when he starts from midfield, he is incredibly quick. It is very difficult to find a player who is both a target man, but can also run from midfield.

“The good thing about Romelu is that he can hurt you anywhere. If you keep him far away from the penalty area, he can kill you with his pace. If you have him in the box, he has the physicality to be a target man.”

Whether Lukaku can still hurt teams from anywhere, remains to be seen. At 31, the Belgian is approaching the winter of his career and has shown signs of no longer being the destructive wrecking ball Conte built Inter’s attack around.

And yet, describing him as past his best would be wide of the mark. Lukaku scored 14 goals in 39 appearances in all competitions on loan at Inter Milan two seasons ago and netted 21 in 46 games for Roma last term.

A more pertinent question is not whether Lukaku can still score goals, but what he can bring to Napoli in place of Victor Osimhen.

Serie A’s top scorer as the Partenopei won a first Scudetto in 33 years two seasons ago, the Nigerian, who scored 15 goals in 25 league outings last term, has made it clear he wants to leave the club.

But despite Osimhen being linked with Manchester United, Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain over the past 18 months, the bidding war Napoli owner Aurelio De Laurentiis expected never materialised. 

That is largely down to the €130m (£110m) price tag Napoli have slapped on the 25-year-old, which has effectively priced him out of a move to most European clubs.

Napoli have since indicated they could lower their asking price, while Osimhen’s agent, Roberto Calenda, has shut down speculations his client could join Saudi Arabian outfit Al Ahly before the transfer window shuts.

Can Scott McTominay improve Napoli’s midfield?

McTominay’s arrival, meanwhile, is more surprising but not less intriguing.

Napoli have agreed a €30m (£25.4m) deal for the Scotland international, who is under contract with United until the end of the season and the club have an option to extend by 12 months.

An academy graduate, McTominay has made 253 appearances for United, scoring 29 goals – his 10 in 43 games last term were a career-best – and winning the Carabao Cup and the FA Cup under Erik ten Hag over the past two seasons.

The Dutchman is understood to have been reluctant to let the Scot go, but United needed to raise funds to complete the €50m signing of Manuel Ugarte from PSG. 

That perfectly encapsulates McTominay’s career at Old Trafford. 

The Scot has carved himself a role as an impact player, but he’s some way short of being the elite ball-winning midfielder United need to partner Casemiro. 

Likewise, he lacks the vision to be a deep-lying, ball-playing midfielder.

McTominay is susceptible in possession and the fact he’s become a goalscoring threat at United speaks volumes for the paucity of attacking options at Ten Hag’s disposal.

At the same time, the Scot’s knack for finding the net and his hard-working approach should suit Conte and his brand football, with McTominay likely to challenge Zambo Anguissa for the midfield spot alongside Stanislav Lobotka.

Alternatively, McTominay could be asked to push further up the pitch, in a sort of auxiliary forward role behind the main striker if the circumstances demand it.

Shortly after his unveiling, Conte said Napoli would need up to 10 signings to challenge for the title. Lukaku and McTominay would make it five new arrivals this summer, a solid enough platform for Conte to start turning the club around.