Romelu Lukaku's long goodbye at Napoli is moving towards its final act, with Fenerbahçe now pushing hard to sign the Belgium striker and the Serie A club open to selling him this summer. The 33-year-old never joined the pre-season retreat at Castel di Sangro earlier this week; the club officially confirmed he had been granted extra days of leave by mutual agreement, with the parting of ways increasingly expected.
Multiple sources — Sky Sport Italia, Sportitalia, Fabrizio Romano, Sacha Tavolieri and Yagiz Sabuncuoglu — report that negotiations are in full swing, with Fenerbahçe officials meeting the player's agent Federico Pastorello. According to Football Italia, there is general agreement that Lukaku is asking for wages of around €10m net per season. The main sticking point is the transfer fee: Napoli want €10m for the striker, while the Turkish club's proposal so far stands at only €4m.
Gazzetta dello Sport, meanwhile, reports that Lukaku has already said yes to the Istanbul club and that the operation could be completed within the next 24 hours. The Azzurri would also be relieved to remove his heavy €11m gross salary from the wage bill, while keeping in mind that 40 per cent of any resale value is owed to Chelsea under the 2024 agreement. Fenerbahçe, who won the first leg of their Champions League third qualifying round tie 2-0, can offer the Belgian European football and a two-year deal worth €10m including bonuses.
