Napoli target Man United star after unfortunate injury to Lukaku

Serie A champions Napoli have reportedly identified Manchester United’s striker Joshua Zirkzee as the ideal candidate to replace injured striker Romelu Lukaku. 

As Pulse Sports reported, Partenopei's plans for the new season took a massive hit after their top scorer from last season, Lukaku, suffered a ‘high-grade’ injury in his thigh.

The Belgian suffered the injury during Napoli’s 2-1 win in preseason against Olympiacos on Thursday. After tests were done, the Partenopei announced Lukaku's injury on Monday morning and that he will be out of action for three months. 

“Following the injury he suffered during the match against Olympiacos, Romelu Lukaku underwent medical examinations at the Pineta Grande Hospital, which revealed a high-grade injury to the rectus femoris in his left thigh,” Napoli’s statement read. “The Azzurri player has already begun the rehabilitation process and will receive surgical advice.”

Napoli have already signed a striker this summer window, Lorenzo Lucca, from Udinese, whom they preferred to Darwin Nunez. 

However, the plan was always to have two, and with Lukaku's injury, they are now in the market for another striker. According to Corriere dello Sport, they have identified Zirkzee as a candidate.

The Dutch-Nigerian has experience playing in Serie A, having represented Bologna for two seasons before joining Manchester United last summer. However, he has struggled to find his feet at Old Trafford, and Ruben Amorim's side have acquired three forwards this window, pushing him down the pecking order. 

According to Transfermarkt, his current market value is €30 million, but Manchester United will be expected to demand more than that. Zirkzee is not alone on their list of options, however, as Napoli are also looking at Nikola Kstovic from Lecce, Crystal Palace’s Jean Philippe Mateta, who is also courted by Atalanta, and former LALIGA golden boot winner Artem Dovbyk from Roma.