Chelsea can kill two birds with one stone as Antonio Conte 'plots raid' on former club

Former Chelsea manager Antonio Conte is set to land the top job at Napoli, and negotiating a two-way deal with the Londoners could be one of his first courses of action. The Italian has been out of work since leaving Tottenham 14 months ago.

Negotiations between Conte and the Azzurri are said to be ‘moving forward’. The 54-year-old has enjoyed great success in Serie A, winning three Serie A titles at Juventus and another with Inter Milan.

During his time in charge of the latter, Romelu Lukaku led the line to devastating effect. And according to Corriere della Sera, Conte wants to reunite with the Belgian in Naples.

Serious interest in Lukaku will be welcomed by Chelsea, who are reportedly keen to offload him for £38million. This summer represents the Blues’ best chance of doing so after the striker’s 21-goal campaign with AS Roma.

Not only can Chelsea use Conte’s interest in Lukaku to line their pockets, but it could also grease the wheels of a move for Napoli striker Victor Osimhen. The Italian club’s CEO, Aurelio De Laurentiis, has already made it clear that Osimhen will leave the club in the upcoming transfer window.

Real Madrid, Paris Saint-Germain and the Premier League were touted by De Laurentiis as the player’s most likely destination. And Chelsea are among the English sides preparing to pounce.

A steady stream of communication between Chelsea and Napoli while prospective negotiations for Lukaku take place should stand the west London club in good stead when it comes to moving for Osimhen.

The Nigerian international has a whopping £111m release clause, but Chelsea receiving a significant cash injection through the sale of Lukaku would make the mammoth financial outlay more palatable.

Osimhen has stopped short of naming his next destination, but he openly claims to dream of playing in the Premier League, and considers Chelsea legend Didier Drogba to be one of his childhood heroes.

The Napoli marksman, 25, has scored 66 goals in his last three seasons and went all the way to the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) final with Nigeria back in February.