Massimiliano Allegri gave the go-ahead for the 23-year-old defender's exit following the imminent arrival of Benoît Badiashile from Chelsea, and the deal is now close to being finalised, according to Fabrizio Romano.
Lorient have agreed to take Obaretin on loan with an option to sign him permanently at the end of the season, a package reportedly worth €3.5m plus a percentage of any future resale for Napoli.
Sturm Graz had also shown strong interest, but the French club won out. A product of Napoli's Primavera academy, Obaretin spent last season on loan at Empoli in Serie B, where he made 30 appearances, and made little impact during Napoli's pre-season friendlies this summer, meaning he was never likely to find regular game time behind the club's senior centre-backs.
In a separate interview, club president Aurelio De Laurentiis used an appearance on Rai 2's Paradise programme to push back on his public reputation, telling host Pascal Vicedomini that the perception of him as a hard-nosed operator is wide of the mark.
"This legend that I'm tough amuses me a lot. It's not true at all, absolutely — I'm an extremely gentle person, always available and turned towards others when they need it," De Laurentiis said.
"What makes me angry? I don't like dishonest people — that's when I lose it completely. In Italy, unfortunately, lying reigns supreme, and maybe the tough-guy mask is a reaction to this country's great lie.
"We should be first in the world, and yet we're chasing, struggling, and that's not pleasant."
Asked what he wishes for his seven grandchildren, the Napoli president reflected on the kind of people he hopes they become.
"That they aren't sanctimonious, but decent," he said.