Romelu Lukaku booed as Napoli striker struggles to pay Chelsea fee

Romelu Lukaku’s honeymoon in Naples following his summer move from Chelsea is well and truly over after he was booed by his own fans on Sunday.

Lukaku was jeered and heckled as he was substituted in the closing stages of Napoli’s 1-0 home defeat to Lazio at the Stadio Maradona.

The defeat means that Napoli have lost top place in Serie A to Atalanta, while Inter or Fiorentina could also overtake them if they win their game in hand against each other.

Napoli have struggled to score this season, with only 21 goals in 15 games, relying on a strong defence to eke out a number of narrow wins.

Lukaku was meant to fire in the goals for Napoli to lead their title charge under Antonio Conte.

However, he has managed just five goals so far this season and has increasingly looked impotent in recent weeks with just three goals in the last two months.

Lukaku had enjoyed a brilliant start to his career at Napoli, scoring two goals and delivering two assists in his first two matches – one of them as a substitute and the other as a starter.

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But he has slowed down considerably since that fast start, and while he has still done a decent job at holding up the ball, he no longer has the pace and goal threat he once did.

Lukaku completed his transfer to Napoli this summer in a €30 million deal with Chelsea, signing a contract until 2027

Lukaku replaced Victor Osimhen, who moved to Galatasaray on loan after failing to get a transfer to a major European league before the end of the transfer window.

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Lukaku was not in Chelsea’s plans for the season following his return to the club after his loan at Roma last term.

So far, it has been good business by Chelsea, who themselves are second in the Premier League table.

Lukaku at Chelsea

Lukaku initially rejoined Chelsea from Inter in the summer of 2021 for a then-club record transfer fee of €115 million.

But he was a disaster during the 2021-22 campaign, falling out with manager Thomas Tuchel, criticising the club publicly and performing poorly on the pitch.

Chelsea had tried to sell Lukaku since then but had been unable to find a club willing to pay the amortised cost of his transfer each summer.

As a result, he spent the 2022-23 campaign back at Inter on loan, and then last season on loan at Roma before joining Napoli permanently.