Chelsea are open to making a bid for Romelu Lukaku this summer as he is keen to return to Italy, talkSPORT understands.

The Belgian striker spent the past two seasons on loan at Internazionale and AS Roma, but is now willing to take a significant pay cut to join his new club, Napoli, under former manager Antonio Conte.

It means Lukaku is likely to finally leave Chelsea for good this summer, three years after his mega-salary at Stamford Bridge quickly turned into a nightmare for club and player.

Chelsea paid £97.5million to re-sign their former striker from Internazionale in the summer of 2021 after he guided the Serie A club to their first league title in a decade – with Conte as manager.

Three years later, Chelsea are prepared to take a big loss on the 31-year-old and are willing to accept a bid of around £29m.

Napoli are currently in talks with the Premier League club over the deal, with Lukaku keen to stay in Italy and reunite with former manager Conte.

Lukaku is likely to replace Victor Osimhen, who is believed to be joining Paris Saint-Germain this summer as a replacement for Kylian Mbappe following his free transfer to Real Madrid.

Osimhem has led Napoli’s attacking line with distinction for the past four seasons, scoring 31 goals as Napoli secured the 2022/23 Serie A title.

While fans may not be happy with Lukaku’s arrival, they appear to trust Conte enough to back the deal.

That is according to Italian football expert Daniele Fisichella, who told talkSPORT that Napoli fans are open to Lukaku’s arrival as Conte helps the club bounce back from a tough last season, which saw the team finish tenth in the table, a year after the champions’ success.

“I think Napoli fans have confidence in Antonio Conte and believe he is the man who can take them at least to fourth place,” he said.

“And because Conte likes Lukaku so much and has had him at Inter for two seasons, I think the Napoli fans will be happy to get a Belgian.

“Of course Lukaku is six years older than Osimhen and he is not a rising star. He is not a star.

“Of course he is almost at the end of his career, but if you compare Lukaku’s numbers in Serie A with Osimhen’s, they are very similar. Lukaku has scored 70 Serie A goals in four years, Osimhen only a few more. Last season Lukaku scored 21 times for Roma, slightly less in the league than Osimhen.

“But he seems to fit perfectly with the way Antonio Conte wants to play. The 3-5-2, Lukaku will hold up well. He can also give you the opportunity to play on the counter.

“And ultimately, with Antonio Conte it’s about a quick solution, something that works immediately.

“And we saw it in the way he took Lukaku under his wing at Inter. That solution can work, of course. So yes, it seems the most likely destination. Conte convinced Lukaku to reject other offers.

“AC Milan and the Saudi League have tried to contact him before. Also, a number of new Napoli players who know Lukaku well have spoken to him.

“So we are actually just waiting for Osimhen to move to Paris, and for Lukaku to move to the third Italian club since 2019.”

Meanwhile, it appears that Osimhen’s departure to PSG has been postponed as the French club attempts to negotiate a lower transfer fee despite Napoli sticking to the striker’s high buyout fee.

“The distance between Napoli’s request and PSG’s offer is not huge. Napoli are asking for €130m (£110m), which is precisely Osimhen’s release clause under the new contract he signed a year ago.

“PSG are offering €100m (£84m) plus add-on, but this is almost the worst kept secret in Italy. We all knew Osimhen would leave.

“Osimhen’s decision is to leave. So if PSG can meet Napoli’s request, he will join them, unless Al-Hali comes back to Saudi Arabia with a mega, mega offer.

“But it is clear that the player’s decision is much more important and he wants to stay in Europe.”