Napoli irritated with former Manchester United star

The links between Manchester United and Napoli have continued to grow over recent years, as Antonio Conte routinely looks at Old Trafford for reinforcement.

In summer 2024, Napoli signed Scott McTominay, with the midfielder going on to dominate Serie A in his debut season as the league’s MVP and Player of the Year.

Last summer, a loan offer was agreed to see Rasmus Hojlund join Conte’s side with an option to buy that has already been decided to be triggered.

While it would have been enforced anyway with the qualification to the Champions League, Napoli are keen to take the striker on for the agreed £38 million this summer, having already paid £5 million for his loan.

However, it’s another striker at the Italian club who’s causing issues now in the form of ex-Red Devil Romelu Lukaku.

Italian outlet Gazzetta has reported that Napoli are becoming annoyed with Lukaku, who is refusing to attend training.

With the international break upon us, many players who haven’t been called up take the opportunity to take some downtime and travel, often returning home to visit family.

That’s exactly what Romelu Lukaku has done this week, heading from Naples to Brussels, staying there with his mother and children.

However, Napoli have now requested that he return to get back to training, which he is refusing to do.

The former Manchester United striker informed the Italian side that he would not be returning to Castel Volturno to take part in the final two sessions of the week.

His rationale is that by staying in Belgium and missing training, it will help his recovery, better helping him to contribute to the end of the season, and to be ready for Belgium’s World Cup campaign.

Speaking about his decision, the Belgium national team’s technical director, Vincent Mannaert, explained: “Lukaku carefully considered what was best for the rest of his season.”

He continued: “Given the flights and transportation required, he logically concluded that it wouldn’t be ideal for him to continue training at such a high pace.

“The good news is that there are no health problems. It’s more about figuring out how to best prepare for the final months: both for the season finale with Napoli and for the World Cup.

“It was a difficult choice, but he made the decision. We know two things: that Romelu knows his body very well and that he truly wants to be at the World Cup.

“This gives us the confidence to believe he’s still in the running for the World Cup.”

While this shows the understanding of the Belgium national side, Napoli are yet to release a statement on the situation.