The next high-profile striker has decided to join the Süper Lig: Romelu Lukaku is leaving SSC Napoli and will be chasing goals for Fenerbahçe in the future.
Mason Greenwood, Mohamed Salah, Leandro Trossard, and Romelu Lukaku have more in common than just having all played in the Premier League. This summer, the quartet also made their first moves to the Süper Lig. The deals involving Greenwood (to Fenerbahce for just under 40 million euros), Salah (on a free transfer to Trabzon), and Trossard (to Besiktas for just under 20 million euros) have now been followed by Lukaku’s.
Like Greenwood, Lukaku is also heading to runner-up Fenerbahce, which has made a clear statement to Galatasaray about its title ambitions with its summer transfer activity. Lukaku is expected to be the next piece of the puzzle in bringing the first league title since 2014 to the blue-and-yellow side of the city. “It is an honor and a privilege to join your club,” the 33-year-old said in a welcome message posted on the club’s official channels.
Last season, Fenerbahçe had plenty of chances to actually knock Galatasaray off the throne, but ultimately fell short on the penultimate matchday. In 2026–27, Fener aims to set the tone itself and has an even more formidable squad at its disposal than it did last season.
It will be exciting to see how Lukaku fits into the team. The Belgian international, who has 132 caps (93 goals), was most recently under contract with SSC Napoli, which needed to make room in its attack and is set to pocket around six million euros for the striker, whose contract was actually set to run through the summer of 2027.
Strong World Cup performance as a super sub
The relationship between Lukaku and Napoli had broken down, and in the search for a suitable buyer, they found one on the Bosphorus. Lukaku brings with him the experience of 278 Premier League appearances (121 goals) and 170 in Serie A (85 goals).
Lukaku could also offer valuable insights regarding the Champions League, which Fenerbahçe has its sights firmly set on via the qualifying rounds. After all, he has made 42 appearances in the Champions League (18 goals). In the injury-plagued past season, Lukaku made only five Serie A appearances (one goal), but then impressed as a substitute for his home country, Belgium, at the World Cup: In three of his five substitute appearances, he scored three goals and provided one assist.
For Lukaku, the move to Turkey also marks a return to the country where he lived as a young boy. Between 1996 and 1997, his father Roger—who passed away last year—played for Genclerbirligi Ankara—the very club against which Fenerbahçe will kick off its season on the road (Saturday, 8:30 p.m.).
