Lukaku Does Bare Minimum to Mend Fences with Napoli

Romelu Lukaku made a quick trip back to Italy to talk with the Napoli brass and try repairing the relationship, but he has quickly returned to Belgium to continue rehabbing from a psoas muscle injury. The striker didn’t meet with Antonio Conte, Corriere dello Sport relays.

The center-forward was accompanied by world-renowned physio Lieven Maesschalck, his agent Federico Pastorello, and his lawyer Sebastien Ledure. He sat down with director Giovanni Manna.

Lukaku documented his physical problem and his progress and will be unavailable for at least two more Napoli matches. If he heals up and returns, he’ll be hoping for some playing time to round into shape ahead of the World Cup.

The striker hasn’t spoken vis-à-vis with Conte in about a month, when he left for the previous international break and didn’t report back despite being unavailable to play with Belgium. Their rapport is considered beyond repair at this point.

The club has levied a couple of fines against their star. His decision to stay in Antwerp was unilateral, and he didn’t answer two call-ups. However, the recent summit will likely avoid further disciplinary actions. He won’t be technically frozen out, which could have some legal ramifications. But it remains to be seen whether he’ll play again this campaign.

The parties will eventually start working together toward his exit, Il Mattino reports. His €8.5M net salary is the main obstacle in that regard, while his residual financial cost is about €6M.

Our Take on Napoli and Lukaku

It’s the least they could do to nip the matter in the bud right before it got really ugly. The point of no return has already been reached. It’ll be surprising if he finds another home in a top-five league.