Romelu Lukaku

[Tomo 21,681]

If Lukaku was not such a phsyical beast I could see it but Bojan does not have superb strength or pace. Lukaku has a combination of pace and power. I am not sure if his technical ability will ever be that good but he has an advantage over the likes of Bojan due to his power. Sometimes when you have a combination of those two, you have a some what an advantge.

Fair enough, even so mind he could still end up at Heskey level which all the same would make 28m a big rip off.

[The only place to be 11,313]

Fair enough, even so mind he could still end up at Heskey level which all the same would make 28m a big rip off.

Heskey is different.

He was all about pace and power, had a poor first-touch and hold-up play and got into double digits in the Premier League on two occasions before his 21st birthday before moving to a club on Merseyside.

Completely different players.

[johnnythefirst 1,076]

For perspective we payed only 4m more on one of the best forwards in Europe.

Hmm, bold statement.

=> One of the best forwards in Europe, last season.

Looking at his entire career, he's not really been very impressive. People forget so quickly. We'll see what happens.

[iseah100 5,612]

Hmm, bold statement.

=> One of the best forwards in Europe, last season.

Looking at his entire career, he's not really been very impressive. People forget so quickly. We'll see what happens.

He had to wait behind Aguero and Falcao lol. He was patient and waited than seized his opportunity. He's light years ahead of Lukaku as far as skill

[DJames 729]

*Sigh* I was hoping this was not going to happen. Not very motivating for our youth squad imo. Good luck at Everton maybe one day you might pull a Matic and come back to us.

[nibal 14]

Heskey is different.

He was all about pace and power, had a poor first-touch and hold-up play and got into double digits in the Premier League on two occasions before his 21st birthday before moving to a club on Merseyside.

Completely different players

Only "double digit" is a little bit skewed as a criteria ...Heskey scored 20 goals , lukaku 32 that's like 60% more....

It took Heskey three seasons to score 33.

My mistake.... four seasons to score 36.

Edited August 1, 2014 by nibal

[MrB0X3R 12]

We should've kept him. Him and Costa would've been great to have on the team. Im sure he will do great at Everton though!

[RoyalBlues 4,050]

Thibaut Courtois has a battle on his hands for the No 1 spot at Chelsea - and the Belgian 'keeper wants to learn everything he can from his rival Petr Cech to make it in the Premier League.

The 22-year-old is back in training with his parent club after three years on loan with Spanish champions Atletico Madrid and he admits it's good to be back as he looks to achieve his 'dream' of playing in England's top tier.

But while Courtois has been lauded as the world's best young 'keeper by Jose Mourinho he still has a tough fight on his hands from Chelsea's No 1 Cech.

And the young pretender says he is already learning from the incumbent, 10 years his senior, as he looks to snatch a spot in the Blues side from him.

'Petr has had a really nice 10 years here,' Courtois told Chelsea TV. 'He's one of the best goalkeepers in the world.

'Every goalkeeper can have a type of thing they are usually good at so when you see them train you can learn from them. It helps you during your training.

'I signed with Chelsea three years ago but because of the loan it took until today to have my first training session, so I'm really happy to be here.

'There will be a battle to be in the starting XI but that's good. It helps the players to improve themselves to play even better so that's perfect.'

'Physically, I've had three weeks off. I had a good recuperation and I don't think I lost a lot of the condition that I need to be ready for the games,' the young 'keeper said.

'I gained a lot of experience (at Atletico) playing some important games. Every aspect of being a goalkeeper I improved myself. I learned a lot.

'I always dreamed when I was younger to play in the Premier League so hopefully I can do that soon.'

And Courtois will need to be ready for the competition as The Special One has already said he has no intention of selling either stopper.

'It's a good problem for me,' Mourinho said. 'Thibault just arrived, he arrived as the best young goalkeeper in the world. They will fight and for me it is a good.

'I was never afraid to make big decisions. I prefer to make this decision than to have a keeper I don't trust.'

Romelu Lukaku has a battle on his hands for the No 9 spot at Chelsea - and the Belgian striker wants to learn everything he can from his rivals, Costa and Drogba to become one of the best in the Premier League.

The 21-year-old is back in training with his parent club after two years on loan with WBA and Everton and he admits it's good to be back as he looks to achieve his 'dream' of playing in England's top tier.

But while Lukaku has been lauded as one of the world's best young striker by Jose Mourinho he still has a tough fight on his hands from Costa and Drogba.

And the young pretender says he is already learning especially from Drogba, his senior, as he looks to snatch a spot in the Blues side from him.

'Drogba has had a really nice 8 years here,' Lukaku told Chelsea TV. 'He's one of the best strikers in the world.

'Every striker can have a type of thing they are usually good at so when you see them train you can learn from them. It helps you during your training.

'I signed with Chelsea three years ago but because of the loans and my first year at U21 it took until this moment to have my first full season, so I'm really happy to be here.

'There will be a battle to be in the starting XI but that's good. It helps the players to improve themselves to play even better so that's perfect.'

'Physically, I've had three weeks off. I had a good recuperation and I don't think I lost a lot of the condition that I need to be ready for the games,' the young striker said.

'I gained a lot of experience (at WBA and Everton) playing some important games. Every aspect of being a striker I improved myself. I learned a lot.

'I always dreamed when I was younger to play in the Premier League at a top level, so hopefully I can do that soon.'

And Lukaku will need to be ready for the competition as The Special One has already said he has no intention of selling either striker.

'It's a good problem for me,' Mourinho said. 'Lukaku just arrived back, he arrived as one of the best young striker in the world. They will fight and for me it is a good.

'I was never afraid to make big decisions. I prefer to make this decision than to have a striker I don't trust.'

If only, if only...

[Myself 793]

courtois transfer rumours COMMENCE!

[Special Juan 27,099]

*Sigh* I was hoping this was not going to happen. Not very motivating for our youth squad imo.

Whilst you can spin it regarding what the youth may think or look towards, it's also a lesson to them to knuckle down and do your talking on the pitch and at any given moment be prepared to fight for what your aspire to be.

[ParNolio7 285]

Interesting piece on Lukaku in my opinion:

http://www.whoscored.com/Articles/0lx3whf7q0m5kzzbxaa77q/Show/Team-Focus-Is-Chelseas-Decision-to-Sell-Lukaku-the-Right-One

[Special Juan 27,099]

If it weren't for Mourinho's steadfastly stubborn approach to Lukaku's demands, the Belgian might well have been able to do just that.

Lukaku's demands

They should of just written that, because that was why his existence here was terminated.

[Jype 6,398]

Interesting piece on Lukaku in my opinion:

http://www.whoscored.com/Articles/0lx3whf7q0m5kzzbxaa77q/Show/Team-Focus-Is-Chelseas-Decision-to-Sell-Lukaku-the-Right-One

'Interesting', as in whoever wrote that agrees with you.

"Romelu was always clear that in his mentality and his approach he was not highly motivated to come to a competitive situation", Mourinho was quoted as saying in the Daily Mirror, citing the Belgian striker's previous roles as first pick on loan at both West Brom and Everton. "He wanted to play for Chelsea but clearly only as the first choice striker - and at a club of our dimension it's very difficult to promise a player that status."

Fair enough, then, José! Get rid! Rid the club of this horribly selfish player, hell-bent on seeing his impressive performances rewarded with a chance at first team football!

If only it was that simple. Lukaku was not just "wanting to see his impressive performances rewarded with a chance at first team football" as much as he was demanding that we give up on signing Costa and give him the undisputed number one striker role intended for Diego. Comparisons between Lukaku and Torres, Ba, Eto'o are moronic because that's not the one people should be comparing, it's rather Lukaku against Costa where I know which one I would choose 100 times out of 100.

Convincing an unruly 21-year-old Lukaku to fight for his place hardly seems beyond his powers, and if the decision to sell him was merely to avoid such confrontation then it is a selfish act by Mourinho that could be to the detriment of his club.

Yeah, let's just knowingly keep a player who's been throwing a tantrum for the last year because that's what's best for squad morale. Fuck logic.

The part about FFP and Cavani is also pretty much bullshit. Lukaku's FFP cost to the club was around £6m a year but selling him now gave the club a lump sum profit of well over £20m so overall a difference of almost £30m this year. If we now signed Cavani, who'd be hands down the most expensive realistic option for us on the market, he'd cost around £15m a year so with the Lukaku money in the bank we'd only have to worry about his effect on FFP in two years from now and by then we are 100% certain to have Torres (£18.5m a year) off the books when his contract expires so even then it would make little difference. And if we signed a cheaper alternative or no one at all, the profit made from selling Lukaku is enormous.

[ParNolio7 285]

If only it was that simple. Lukaku was not just "wanting to see his impressive performances rewarded with a chance at first team football" as much as he was demanding that we give up on signing Costa and give him the undisputed number one striker role intended for Diego.

So you were there when Mourinho & Lukaku had their talk? Lucky you!

[ParNolio7 285]

The part about FFP and Cavani is also pretty much bullshit. Lukaku's FFP cost to the club was around £6m a year but selling him now gave the club a lump sum profit of well over £20m so overall a difference of almost £30m this year. If we now signed Cavani, who'd be hands down the most expensive realistic option for us on the market, he'd cost around £15m a year so with the Lukaku money in the bank we'd only have to worry about his effect on FFP in two years from now and by then we are 100% certain to have Torres (£18.5m a year) off the books when his contract expires so even then it would make little difference. And if we signed a cheaper alternative or no one at all, the profit made from selling Lukaku is enormous.

Agreed and not agreed. Agreed on the numbers, but not on the fact that FFP would actually be on José's mind to decide about a player's future.

[The only place to be 11,313]

So you were there when Mourinho & Lukaku had their talk? Lucky you!

From someone who lied about Chelsea supporters booing Lukaku, that's pretty rich.

[ParNolio7 285]

'Interesting', as in whoever wrote that agrees with you.

It tries to objectivate (is that a word?) some of the points that I've been argueing.

Anyway, one thing is for sure, an additional top striker should be signed now. We're one injury away from disaster, no one can deny that.

Maybe try and take Joel Campbell away from the Arse? Looked top class to me in the WC!

[ParNolio7 285]

From someone who lied about Chelsea supporters booing Lukaku, that's pretty rich.

Haha, it's a figure of speech for the criticism and mockery basically that he got after his first couple of unsuccesful, clumsy debut appearances. Just check this forum as an example after his first couple of matches. But it was understandable, he totally didn't live up to the Chelsea level. But my point was that he shouldn't have been put in that position. Everybody in Belgium knew that he wasn't good enough back then, still so very rough, should've been loaned out straight away to return and have a proper go two or three years later. Alas!