Napoli sign Romelu Lukaku for €30m: Decoding his stats
Napoli have signed Romelu Lukaku from Chelsea. As per Sky Sports, the Belgian international has sealed a permanent move as Napoli paid a fixed fee of £25.2m (€30m) for Lukaku. There were a few hurdles involving image rights which got resolved last week. Lukaku has signed a 3-year contract. He reunites with Antonio Conte, having worked under him at Inter Milan earlier. Here's more.
Why does this story matter?
Lukaku enjoyed two seasons for Inter from 2019 to 2021. The striker rejoined Chelsea in 2021 for £97.5m. However, after one season, he fell out and moved back to Inter on loan. Inter were keen to sign him again but the player negotiated with Juventus. The move collapsed leading AS Roma to sign him on loan last season. Napoli have now got him permanently.
His early career stats
Lukaku started his career at Anderlecht's youth academy. He gradually grew in stature and featured in 98 appearances for Anderlecht's senior team scoring 41 goals. He joined Chelsea in 2011 and was loaned out to West Brom where he scored 17 times in 38 matches. He joined Everton initially on loan before it became permanent. Overall, he scored 87 goals in 166 appearances.
His career stats since joining Manchester United
After his stint at Everton, he joined Manchester United in 2017. He netted 42 times for United in 95 matches. Lukaku then joined Inter and scored 64 goals in 95 appearances. He returned to Chelsea in 2021 and played 44 games and scored 15 goals. He scored 14 goals in 37 matches in 2022-23 for Inter. In 2023-24, Lukaku scored 21 goals for Roma.
70 goals and 22 assists in Serie A
Lukaku has made 129 appearances in Serie A for Inter and Roma. Across two spells for Inter, he scored 57 goals in 97 matches. For Roma last season, Lukaku clocked 13 league goals in 32 matches. Altogether, he owns 22 assists in Serie A.
Breaking down his Serie A 2023-24 season in stats
Lukaku managed 13 goals and three assists from 32 Serie A games last season. As per Squawka comparison matrix (data by Opta), Lukaku managed 48 shots excluding blocks with 28 of them on target. He hit the woodwork once. He created 28 chances and had 146 touches in the opposition box. He completed 54 lay-offs and won 33 ground duels. He completed 11 take-ons.
Lukaku has won these trophies
Lukaku opened his account by winning the Belgian Pro League (2009-10) for Anderlecht. He also won the Belgian Super Cup in 2010. At Inter, he won the Serie A in the 2020-21 season followed by Coppa Italia (2022-23) and Supercoppa Italiana (2022). He was a Champions League runner-up (2022-23) and Europa League runner-up (2019-20). He won the FIFA Club World Cup with Chelsea (2021).
