Romelu Lukaku: Ex-United star’s Napoli career on the brink as woes deepen | OneFootball

Former Manchester United striker Romelu Lukaku’s career at Napoli hangs by a thread as his situation worsens.

The situation

Having defied the club’s ruling, Lukaku’s difficult spell at Napoli seems to have reached an even lower point.

The Belgium international has endured a season from hell due to injuries, which have limited him to just seven appearances across all competitions, including just five in Serie A. He was on the sidelines for several months with a serious hamstring injury he sustained last summer.

He then returned to action in January but has struggled for playing time, only playing 64 minutes of football since then. He scored his only goal of the campaign in February – an emotional winner against Verona.

But Lukaku suffered another setback, a hip inflammation, which caused him to withdraw from international duty during the recent international break. The expectation was that he would return to Naples for further assessments but he opted to stay in Belgium and seek his own personal treatment.

Despite repeated calls from the reigning Italian champions for his return, Lukaku has disobeyed their directives, restricting contact with the club solely to his agent.

Napoli released a statement, saying that they will “consider appropriate disciplinary action, as well as to determine whether the player will continue to train with the squad for an indefinite period.”

Last week, sporting director Giovanni Manna told DAZN that there will be “consequences” for the ex-United star’s actions. Now, La Repubblica have issued an update on the situation.

Lukaku stoops to new low

According to La Repubblica, Napoli’s hierarchy is infuriated and club bosses are seriously considering banishing him for the rest of the campaign.

His return has been delayed until April 20 but Napoli haven’t forgiven his defiance and he faces being axed from the squad.

A face-to-face meeting has been lined up between Lukaku, Manna, and Antonio Conte to get to the bottom of things. But these talks could ultimately be his last opportunity to save his Napoli career.

La Repubblica claim that the 32-year-old will leave the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium in the summer.

United signed Lukaku from Everton in 2017, in a deal worth around £75, which was a club-record fee at the time. He put pen to paper on a five-year deal with the option of an additional 12 months.

He made 96 appearances for the Red Devils, scoring 42 goals and providing an additional 12 assists in that period.

Featured image Francesco Pecoraro via Getty Images

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