Antonio Conte To Drop Napoli Star After Romelu Lukaku Marks Return With A Goal
Rasmus Hojlund's place in the Napoli lineup is on thin ice as Romelu Lukaku is back amongst the goals.
Louis Fargher
Updated on 23 January 2026
Antonio Conte is ready to drop Rasmus Hojlund to the Napoli bench after Romelu Lukaku marked his return from injury with a goal.
Romelu Lukaku Scores On Napoli Return
After almost six-months on the sidelines Romelu Lukaku made his return to the Napoli starting eleven, as the Partenopei beat Serie D side AC Savoia 3-0.
The Belgian international marked his return to the side with a goal, as Pasquale Mazzocchi and Ivan Anic were also on target for Antonio Conte’s men.
Lukaku has not played a single minute of competitive soccer since Napoli’s Scudetto winning clash on May 23rd, but is now closing in on a full return.
Antonio Conte brought Lukaku into the matchday squad for Napoli’s Supercoppa Italiana matches in December and the Belgian was also in the side for the Partenopei’s 1-1 draw with Copenhagen on January 20th.
Seeing Lukaku back in action will be a huge boost to Antonio Conte’s ambitions this season, as Napoli have endured a torrid time with injuries this season.
Kevin De Bruyne, Frank Anguissa and Billy Gilmour have missed the majority of this season, while David Neres suffered a setback in Napoli’s 2-0 win over Lazio.
The Serie A champions currently sit third in the table, six-points behind table-toppers Inter, and are unbeaten from their last eight matches across all competitions.
However, Conte’s side have drawn four of their last five (all competitions) and Rasmus Hojlind has put in some underwhelming performances – making Lukaku’s return vital.
Rasmus Hojlund Faces Napoli Axe
The Danish international made a strong start to his Napoli career, scoring on debut and adding another two goals in his second Champions League appearance.
However, these performances have died down in recent weeks as Hojlund has failed to find the back of the net in his last six matches across all competitions.
Napoli are starting to lose faith in Hojlund and are reportedly looking for ways to avoid the mandatory €44million buy-option.
The Partenopei must pay this transfer fee to Manchester United if they finish in the top four and the champions are on course to meet this objective.
According to reports, Conte is ready to drop Hojlund for Napoli’s upcoming clash against Juventus in favor of handing Lukaku his first Serie A appearance of the season.
The Italian manager will also be without Lorenzo Lucca, as the striker is closing in on a move to Nottingham Forest – meaning Lukaku is the club’s only option to replace Hojlund.
Louis Fargher
Louis has been an avid soccer enthusiast for multiple years and boasts knowledge across several leagues in Europe - including Serie A. Louis holds a degree in Soccer Journalism and has produced content for multiple clubs in the United Kingdom.
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