Antonio Conte wants to sign £98m Chelsea player but his move could be rejected

Newly-appointed Napoli boss Antonio Conte is now interested in signing a player from his former club Chelsea, but his interest could be rejected. 

With Enzo Maresca at the helm this season, Chelsea are heading in a different direction to last.

Mauricio Pochettino is renowned for high-pressing, offensively orientated football, something that seemingly wasn’t an issue with the Chelsea top-brass.

However, his relationship off the field had become untenable with those higher up, leading to this new era under Maresca.

As a result, Chelsea are expected to be a possession based side moving forward, with a real focus on positional play.

And with that in mind, it’ll be interesting to see which players are deemed suitable or not, including those returning from loan.

Maresca certainly has a clear idea of who he wants to add if reports are to be believed: a sweeper-keeper, a left-back and a forward.

And with four Chelsea players already expected to depart, there could definitely be a fifth given that Romelu Lukaku is now returning from his loan.

Antonio Conte wants to take Romelu Lukaku to Napoli but Chelsea will reject loans

With a Chelsea contract until 2026, it currently seems unlikely that 31-year-old Lukaku will be seen on the Stamford Bridge pitch once again.

And according to a report by the BBC Sport, there is plenty of interest from Italy to see Lukaku play another season of Serie A football.

On loan at Roma last campaign, the club are interested in re-signing Lukaku, but would struggle to meet Chelsea’s asking price of around £37m.

Chelsea are hoping to recoup some of the £98m they paid Inter Milan to sign Lukaku in 2021 – a deal that has been a bit of a disaster.

And unfortunately for Chelsea, it doesn’t seem as if any of the interested clubs from Italy would match that asking price.

AC Milan and Conte’s Napoli are also keen on a move – but Chelsea have made it clear that they would reject any loan approaches this season, given they finally desire a permanent exit.

Of course, Lukaku’s potential exit could pave the way for Chelsea to sign RB Leipzig’s Benjamin Sesko – who is a priority target for the club this summer.

Victor Osimhen interest has cooled, partly because of his price but also his unsuitability to Maresca’s football.

And it now seems as if Sesko will be the go-to signing, a 21-year-old showing a ton of potential.