Napoli’s move for Lukaku, 31, has been driven by their manager Antonio Conte, under whom the Belgian enjoyed two prolific seasons for Inter Milan from 2019 to 2021.

The striker rejoined Chelsea in 2021 for £97.5m but has spent the past two seasons on loan in Italy, first back at Inter and then with Roma.

Lukaku scored 24 league goals as he won Serie A under Conte in 2021, with his form sparking Chelsea’s decision to recruit him.

Disposing of the Belgian – who has not played for Chelsea since May 2022 – gets his £325,000-a-week wages off the books.

Speaking in a pre-match news conference, Conte said Lukaku could make his Napoli debut in Saturday’s game against Parma (19:45 BST).

Lukaku’s departure comes as Chelsea midfielder Tino Anjorin also moves to Italy’s Serie A, joining Empoli on a three-year deal.

Chelsea and Saudi Pro League side Al-Ahli are both in talks to sign Nigeria striker Victor Osimhen, 25, which will help Napoli offset their spending.

The winner in Vienna would qualify and Belgium took a 12th-minute lead when Timothy Castagne set up Dodi Lukebakio.

He got his second after 55 minutes, with Romelu Lukalu scoring a third soon after to make it 3-0.

Austria fought back with goals from Konrad Laimer and a Marcel Sabitzer penalty and Belgium held on despite Amadou Onana being sent off late on.

The Everton midfielder was shown his second yellow card in the 78th minute, but his country maintained their lead with 10 men.

The win leaves Belgium top of Group F on 16 points with five wins and one draw from six matches and three points clear of Austria, while third-placed Sweden only have six points from five games.

It means Belgium, who lost to eventual champions Italy in the quarter-finals of Euro 2020 and were beaten by Wales at the same phase in Euro 2016, will join hosts Germany, who qualify automatically for next summer’s tournament.

Austria will join Belgium at Euro 2024 if they win in Azerbaijan on Monday.

Elsewhere on Friday, France and Portugal also booked their places in Euro 2024.

Nicolo Barella’s downward header gave Inter the lead in the quarter-final first leg in Lisbon.

Benfica struggled to dictate play in front of their own fans as Inter produced a defensive masterclass in Lisbon.

Rafa Silva was denied by Andre Onana’s first-half save before Inter’s Netherlands defender Denzel Dumfries produced a crucial block from close range as Benfica pushed for an equaliser.

The Italian visitors wrapped up a solid win when substitute Lukaku, on loan from Chelsea, scored from the spot after former Inter player Joao Mario handled inside the box.

Premier League referee Michael Oliver awarded the penalty after watching the incident on the pitchside monitor, with replays showing the ball struck the side of Mario’s head before hitting his hand.

Simone Inzaghi’s side will fancy their chances of finishing the job in front of their own fans in the return leg on 19 April (20:00 BST).

Porto looked like they would frustrate the Serie A side but their task grew more difficult when Otavio was sent off and eventually Inter’s pressure paid when Lukaku – a second-half substitute – struck with four minutes remaining.

With both teams coming into this game in fine form, there had been considerable excitement ahead of kick-off, but it proved a cagey affair.

Inter, who have lost just once in 13 games, had the first chance when Lautaro Martinez peeled free at the far post but could only head Federico Dimarco’s cross over.

Targeting a 10th straight win, Porto were slow to start but almost broke the deadlock when Andre Onana pulled off a fine save with his feet to keep out Marko Gruijic’s powerful effort, and from the rebound Galeno failed to hit the target.

The hosts thought they had a strong case for a penalty when Matteo Darmian went down inside the box under pressure from Galeno, but there was nothing doing. On the stroke of half-time, Alessandro Bastoni’s glancing header forced a fine reaction save from Porto goalkeeper Diogo Costa.

Barella fired agonisingly wide after the restart, and, at the opposite end, Inter goalkeeper Onana pulled off a double save to deny Taremi and then Zaidu.

With time running out, the Nerazzurri pushed for a winner, introducing Lukaku from the bench and the Belgium international had an immediate impact, setting up a chance for Barella who shot just over.

Porto’s task grew more difficult when midfielder Otavio was sent off for a second bookable offence and the visitors would pay a heavy price when eventually Inter found a way through courtesy of Lukaku’s late goal. After hitting the post from Denzel Dumfries’ cross, he remained composed to slot in the rebound to ensure Inter take a slender lead to Portugal for the second leg on March 14.

Lukaku was handed his 12th Premier League start of the season at Selhurst Park on Saturday but failed to make an impact as the Blues laboured to an unconvincing 1-0 victory.

The Belgium international, who returned to Stamford Bridge from Inter in a £98 million ($133m) deal last summer, was unable to muster a single shot at goal and only had seven touches – fewer than any other player to see 90 minutes of action this season.

Chelsea are now looking ahead to the first leg of their round of 16 Champions League tie against Lille, and Lukaku is in contention to lead the line once again.

Tuchel jumped to the forward’s defence at his pre-match press conference, telling reporters: “It’s not the time to laugh about him, he is our player and we will protect him.”

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The Blues head coach is aware of the damning statistics Lukaku posted against Palace, but has played down their significance and written his performance off as a bad day at the office.

“What can I do? I don’t know. Well, we have to deal with it,” Tuchel added. “The data is out there and speaks the language that he wasn’t in our game.

“With strikers, it can be like this when they lack confidence or depending on the game.”

Lukaku’s poor showing at Palace came on the back of his star turn at the FIFA Club World Cup, as he fired Chelsea’s winner in the last four against Al-Hilal before also scoring in their final victory against Palmeiras.

Those two goals took the 28-year-old’s overall tally for the campaign to 10 from 28 appearances, but only five of those have come in the Premier League.

The Blues faithful will hope that Lukaku can rediscover his scoring touch against Lille on Tuesday night before Tuchel’s side turn their attention to a Carabao Cup final date against Liverpool on February 27.

In an interview recorded several weeks ago but aired on Thursday, Belgium striker Lukaku said he was “not happy” with his bit-part role under Blues boss, Thomas Tuchel earlier this season.

He added he would like to return to Inter Milan, who he left for Chelsea in August, in the near future.

Tuchel said the comments had brought the club “noise we don’t need”.

Lukaku has scored seven goals in 18 appearances since he rejoined Chelsea this summer. He has also been hampered by injury and illness and, at times, found himself left out of the starting line-up when fit.

However, he has had a recent upturn in form, scoring in his last two Premier League appearances, after discussions about his role with Tuchel.

TEAM NEWS

Chelsea are set to be without Reece James, who was forced off against Brighton because of a hamstring injury.

Fellow wing-back Ben Chilwell is likely to miss the remainder of the season following knee surgery.

Andreas Christensen is doubtful with a back issue, while Timo Werner and Thiago Silva will be monitored after returning to training.

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has returned a suspected positive test for Covid-19 and won’t be at Sunday’s game.

Assistant Pep Lijnders will instead take charge for the visit to Stamford Bridge.

Klopp revealed on Friday that three unnamed players had tested positive for the virus.

Thiago and Takumi Minamino are ruled out by injuries, while Andrew Robertson serves the final game of a three-match suspension.

LAWRO’S PREDICTION

Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp was right when he said they lost at Leicester on Tuesday because they weren’t at their usual level, but they have had a few of those performances recently.

The Reds have got away with it a few times and won anyway, but it has cost them when they have dropped points – and they cannot afford to do that if they want to win the league.

Chelsea’s next Premier League game after this one is at Manchester City, so this is a very big moment in their season. They are not having a great time either, but I don’t think they are quite done yet.

Both teams really need a win to kickstart their challenge, so that’s why I am going with a draw. It’s a result that will suit City far more.

We will see Liverpool and Chelsea back in form in the second half of the season, for sure. By then, though, City’s lead at the top might be into double digits.

MATCH FACTS

Head-to-head

• Liverpool are vying to win a third consecutive Premier League game away to Chelsea. The only team to have previously done so are Blackburn, between 1993-94 and 1995-96.
• None of the previous 38 meetings in all competitions have ended goalless, with the last 0-0 coming at Stamford Bridge in February 2008.

Chelsea

• Chelsea have dropped 11 points from winning positions in the Premier League this season, one more than they did in total in 2020-21.
• They kept clean sheets in seven of their opening 10 league fixtures this season but have recorded just two shut-outs in their subsequent 10 matches. 
• The Blues have not won their opening league game of the calendar year since beating Crystal Palace in 2016 (D3, L2).
• Thomas Tuchel has lost nine of his 16 matches as a manager against Jurgen Klopp (W3, D4), though he is unbeaten in the last three.
• Mason Mount has been involved in 12 top-flight goals this season, scoring seven and assisting five. It’s the highest figure by any English player and equals his best total in a Premier League campaign, set in 2019-20.
• Romelu Lukaku has failed to score in eight consecutive league appearances against Liverpool since netting for Everton in a 1-1 draw at Goodison Park in October 2015.

Liverpool

• Liverpool failed to score for the first time in 29 Premier League games when they were beaten 1-0 by Leicester.
• The Merseysiders are in danger of back-to-back league defeats for the first time since March 2021, when they lost home fixtures against Chelsea and Fulham in the space of four days.
• The Reds are winless in their three Premier League games in London this season (D2, L1), letting in eight goals – as many as they conceded in their previous 12 visits to the capital.
• Mohamed Salah has been directly involved in 13 goals in his past 13 league matches in London, scoring eight and assisting five.
• Salah has failed to score in all four of his Premier League appearances for Liverpool at Stamford Bridge, though both of his league goals for Chelsea came at the stadium.
• Fabinho is set to make his 100th Premier League appearance.

The Grime star Stormzy reacted with fury after an Irish newspaper mistook him for footballer Romelu Lukaku. The issue was, however, settled amicably.

The pair met for the first time during Afrobeat star Wizkid’s sold-out concert at London’s O2 Arena on Sunday night.

Having finally met at Wizkid’s concert, the two shared a warm embrace backstage before proceeding to shake hands.

Lukaku, who joined Chelsea from Inter Milan in a big-money move in the summer, recently returned from an injury that sidelined him for a month.

During the Euro 2020, the British-Ghanaian artiste joined several local fans to celebrate England’s win over Germany in the round of 16.

Stormzy had promised that he would visit fans in their homes if England won their match against Germany. He went ahead to watch the game with strangers at Boxpark in Croydon and visited a few fans to celebrate the victory, as promised.

Wearing a Jack Grealish number 7 England home shirt, the rapper was captured celebrating with the fans when Sterling opened the scoring.

Watch the video of Stormzy’s encounter with Lukaku below:

Lukaku’s double gave Inter their first victory in the Champions League this season in a rollercoaster game, blowing Group B wide open ahead of the final round of group matches next week.

“A leader? I’m just one of the 25 players in the squad,” said the Belgium striker. “There are a lot of players who have more experience than me. I just want to help the team win, that’s my only motivation on a daily basis.

“I have been playing the best football of my career for a year and a half.”

It was another match-winning performance from Lukaku, who now has 13 goals in 15 European games for Inter, and one which left Gladbach midfielder Christoph Kramer scratching his head.

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“If you mark him the whole time, then they play around him, so it’s a balancing act. But that’s Inter for you. They have so many different facets to their game, and they showed that today,” Kramer told broadcaster DAZN.

Gladbach still sit on top of the group after Shakhtar Donetsk beat Real Madrid 2-0 earlier on Tuesday, but they are now just three points ahead of bottom side Inter.

With just a single point separating the top three sides, all four teams still have a chance to qualify next week.

“We could have avoided unnecessary suffering (in the group), but we are alive and that is the most important thing,” said Inter coach Antonio Conte, who is bidding to avoid his fourth Champions League group-stage exit as a coach.

Antonio Conte’s side set up a showdown with Sevilla on Friday after Martinez gave them the lead with a first-half header after a poor clearance from goalkeeper Andriy Pyatov.

The Ukrainian Premier League champions, who had scored seven goals in their previous two Europa League games, barely landed a blow on their opponents as their conservative approach spectacularly backfired.

Barely two minutes after Junior Moraes missed a sitter, Danilo D’Ambrosio doubled the lead for Conte’s side with a header from a corner.

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Martinez then made it 3-0 with a stunning low finish from the edge of the box, his 21st goal of the season.

And Romelu Lukaku sealed the rout with two of his own as he netted in his 10th consecutive Europa League match.

First a clever finish from Martinez’s pass before a blistering turn and run that left the defender in his wake as he finished smartly again past a helpless Pyatov as Inter continue their quest for their first trophy since 2011.