Napoli Consider Surprise Move For Premier League Star As Antonio Conte Scrambles To Find Romelu Lukaku Replacement

Napoli are reportedly considering a move for Tottenham Hotspur star, Richarlison, as Romelu Lukaku is set to miss three-months with a thigh injury.

Are Napoli Going To Sign Richarlison?

The Serie A champions were hit with a massive blow in their final pre-season encounter against Olympiacos, as Romelu Lukaku was forced off after 33-minutes following a strain to his left thigh.

Antonio Conte will have been preparing for the upcoming season with Lukaku as his leading talisman, after the Belgian international contributed to 24 league goals (14G +10 A) in Napoli’s run to the Scudetto.

It has now been confirmed that the 32-year-old will miss three-months of action, meaning Lukaku may be dropped from Napoli’s Champions League squad and force the Italian champions into signing a new center-forward.

Multiple strikers have been linked with Gli Azzurri so far, with Napoli reportedly entering a battle alongside Atalanta for Fulham star, Rodrgio Muniz.

However, it is a another Brazilian striker in the English capital that has recently caught the headlines, as Richarlison is now on Napoli’s radar – following his impressive start to the Premier League season.

Many expected the former Everton star to leave Tottenham in the early stages of this transfer window after his disappointing run in north London since signing for $55 million in July 2022.

The 28-year-old had scored just 20 goals in 91 appearances for the Lilywhites before his two strikes against Burnley and appeared to have fallen out-of-favor with supporters.

This feeling of doubt was put to an end during Spurs’ Premier League opener against Burnley, as Richarlison scored two-goals including a sensational overhead kick.

Despite this performance, the general feeling around the club is that Dominic Solanke will retain his place up-front once he is back to full-fitness and Richarlison may be looking for more consistent minutes ahead of the 2026 World Cup.

According to reports, Napoli are monitoring the situation of multiple strikers across Europe and Richarlison is one that falls into this bracket – but may set the Italian side back a considerable amount.

The Brazilian has two-years remaining on his deal in north London, meaning Napoli may have to pay over $25m to land his signature this summer or negotiate a loan deal with Spurs.

🇧🇷💥 Richarlison (28) vs Burnley. Wow. 😮‍💨 pic.twitter.com/WDy0dqeRyX

— EuroFoot (@eurofootcom) August 16, 2025

How Many Matches Will Romelu Lukaku Miss?

Napoli fans could not have been dealt a bigger blow in the week leading up to their Serie A opener against Sassuolo, as Lukaku has proven to be a vital player under Antonio Conte.

Supporters were asking the question: how long is Romelu Lukaku out for? But the Serie A champions have now confirmed that the Belgian international is set to miss around three-months of action.

Lieven Maesschalck, a physio that has worked with Lukaku for multiple years, shed some light on the situation and claimed that the 32-year-old will do everything to return as soon as possible.

Maesschalck said: “He will be very disappointed because he is addicted to football. But knowing Rom, with his mentality, he will do everything he can to return as soon as possible.

“We will have to protect him from himself because he tends to set unrealistic goals. That is his nature. He wants to push himself further but we have to respect nature’s timing.”

This recent injury means that Lukaku could miss around 11 Serie A matches, including a trip to the San Siro against AC Milan and a home clash against title-rivals Inter.

However, the former Manchester United may return in time for Napoli’s tricky trio of matches, as Antonio Conte’s side face Atalanta, Roma and Juventus in consecutive league matches between November 23rd-December 7th.

Lukaku may also miss the opening four matches of Napoli’s Champions League campaign, meaning Conte has a decision to make on whether he leaves the Belgian out of the squad altogether.