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Romelu Lukaku has revealed the role he played in convincing compatriot Kevin De Bruyne to join him at Napoli.
Kevin De Bruyne will join Napoli on a free transfer from Manchester City on July 1, after 10 hugely successful years.
Romelu Lukaku, speaking in an interview with Belgian newspaper Het Laatste Nieuws (via TMW), revealed that he “spoke to him a couple of times” and “explained how things work” at Napoli.
Commenting on De Bruyne’s arrival, Lukaku said: “I’m happy he’s joining us. He’s exactly what Napoli needs to take the next step. We’ve just become champions, and we don’t just want to defend that title – we want to improve as well.”
Napoli clinched the Scudetto on the final matchday, edging out Inter by a single point. Lukaku played a pivotal role, scoring 14 goals and providing 10 assists in 36 Serie A matches.
How Lukaku convinced De Bruyne to join Napoli
Regarding De Bruyne, the ex-Chelsea star added: “I spoke to him a couple of times while on national team duty, and he also called me once. I explained how things work here.
I also told him where he could look for a place to live and things like that. Dries [Mertens] and I did our best to convince him, and Kevin made the right choice.”
Despite interest from the MLS, where De Bruyne could have played in a less intense environment, the former Manchester City captain opted to join Napoli to compete at the highest level under Antonio Conte.