Disappointing Lucca is back ‘home’ but his Napoli fate is all to be decided in 2026

Lorenzo Lucca returns ‘home’ to face his old club Udinese, but even though he’s not going to get much playing time at Napoli, he is not on the transfer market yet.

The centre-forward first made his mark with the Friulani and will visit his former teammates wearing the Napoli jersey.

He’ll be on the bench, because the hierarchy is rock solid now and Rasmus Hojlund has taken over the role, leaving the Italian with only a handful of minutes per match.

Lucca depends on other players

All this is awaiting Romelu Lukaku, who as Antonio Conte pointed out recently, is not back yet and it’s not clear when he’s likely to be at 100 per cent.

Until that time comes, Lucca is going nowhere, because Napoli need someone to rely on in a campaign full of injury uncertainty.

They will discuss it over the next few weeks, and if the Belgian should be available for selection, then Lucca could start to look around for a different solution until June.

There’s no point talking about it right now, but at least Lorenzo will be back on familiar territory and perhaps find something to smile about during a disappointing season.