Nottingham Forest arrival Lorenzo Lucca
Nottingham Forest arrival Lorenzo Lucca
Lorenzo Lucca has been struggling at Nottingham Forest since his arrival in January. Now, Napoli are already making plans about his future.
The Italian scored on his debut against Leeds United earlier this season. Since then, he’s played only two games in the Premier League and hasn’t been in the squad for five ties in a row.
Sport Witness have covered the Italian press’ reaction to this. There have been question marks about his attitude, with Tuttomercatoweb also noting some details of an ankle injury.
This suggests his absence from action is due to that fitness problem. Despite that, it seems like his future at Nottingham Forest is already sealed and his valuation has dipped a fair bit.
Napoli want around €18m for sale
AreaNapoli note that Napoli’s obligation to buy Lucca from Udinese stood at €35m. He never really made it in Naples and this is what led to his switch to Nottingham Forest.
The Partenopei are observing things closely and they know he will return to the club in the summer. Antonio Conte’s side are now keen to move him on in the summer and are happy to accept a loss in the deal.
As a result, they value him at between €18m and €20m, with Nottingham Forest not interested in a permanent deal whatsoever.
Napoli’s intention is to sell the striker permanently to recoup as much as they can before his value lowers further.
Things seem difficult for Lucca
It does feel like the Italian’s injury problem is being largely ignored, even if it was widely covered in the press. That is also likely the reason why he hasn’t played in the Premier League for weeks now.
Besides, he hasn’t always been used enough to prove himself either. Within weeks of his arrival, Nottingham Forest changed managers and that probably didn’t help either.
That is why the current spell says little about the 25-year-old’s abilities. He proved himself enough at Udinese and also earned a call-up to the national team. The striker just needs stability once again to really make a mark next season.
If anything, Napoli should be blamed for poor handling of their resources.