Lukaku decision opens door for Osimhen peace talks with Napoli | OneFootball

Napoli might try to patch things up with Victor Osimhen after his failed Al-Ahli and Chelsea transfers, as Romelu Lukaku makes a big decision on his shirt number.

The reports this morning were that Osimhen had been excluded from the Serie A squad list and Lukaku given his Number 9, which would imply there was no way back for the Nigeria international.

However, while the outcast is not in the list, Lukaku has officially been handed the Number 11 shirt on the Lega Serie A website.

Sky Sport Italia take this to mean there might be at least an attempt to recover the fractured rapport, which descended into shouting matches over the phone on deadline day.

Osimhen and Napoli at loggerheads

The two transfers collapsed for different reasons, as Napoli pushed Al-Ahli too far with the request of an extra €5m in bonuses when agreeing €70m plus €10m in add-ons.

As for Chelsea, Sky Sport Italia report it was the player who turned them down because they only offered €4m in set wages, with the other €4m based on performance, specifically €2m if they qualified for the Champions League.

This would’ve been less than half his current salary at Napoli and 10 times less than what the Saudi Pro League were prepared to pay.

It remains to be seen if the relationship between Osimhen and Napoli can be fixed, as coach Antonio Conte practically never worked with him throughout the summer, everyone assuming he would leave anyway.