Lukaku on ‘tough but gentle’ Conte and De Bruyne delight at Napoli

NAPLES, ITALY – APRIL 14: Romelu Lukaku of Napoli celebrates with his head coach Antonio Conte after scoring his side second goal during the Serie A match between Napoli and Empoli at Stadio Diego Armando Maradona on April 14, 2025 in Naples, Italy. (Photo by Francesco Pecoraro/Getty Images)

Romelu Lukaku assures he ‘never believed’ Antonio Conte would walk away from Napoli. ‘He can be tough, but also gentle. I’m so glad I finally get to play with Kevin De Bruyne every day.’

The centre-forward sat down with DAZN Italia to discuss the new campaign, where the Partenopei go from underdogs to reigning Champions of Italy.

The main reason why he moved to the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona last year was to work with Conte again, after their experiences together at Chelsea and Inter.

“Conte tried to motivate me to give my very best,” said Lukaku.

“He can be tough, but also gentle, it depends on the moment, and that has always been his greatest strength. We are here to work and the objective is to win. I would give everything for this team. Now a new season starts, we begin from scratch, and want to keep getting stronger.”

Lukaku never doubted Conte intentions

There were some major doubts when Napoli lifted the Serie A trophy that Conte would walk away, just as he had done previously at Inter.

However, crisis talks with President Aurelio De Laurentiis and the promise of big investments on the transfer market convinced the coach to stay.

“I was never afraid he’d leave. In fact, he stayed,” assured Lukaku.

“We must start from scratch and prove that we have grown. We are going well in pre-season, but there will be many teams fighting it out for the Scudetto to the very end. I expect a great battle.”

The biggest new signing is De Bruyne, even if he did arrive as a free agent from Manchester City, and it is a match made in heaven for the Belgium internationals.

“My rapport with him is not based on football, but on a human level. We’ve known each other since we were kids, just 13 years old, we debuted in the same year and our careers have run in parallel,” explained Lukaku.

“Now I’m so glad I get to play with De Bruyne ever day, it had only really happened before under Jose Mourinho at Chelsea when we were both young. We even lived in the same apartment.”

It is no secret that the striker helped convince De Bruyne to choose Napoli as his next destination, helped also by former Partenopei player Dries Mertens.

“I just told him we have a great squad of real men and exceptional fans. He saw it for himself. He understands a bit of Italian now, he’s very intelligent, plus in Belgium we already start speaking three or four languages in school. He’s really content here and I expect a lot from him.”