The Skipper

I think @Chelsea Legend 11 is talking about right now, not the past. I highlighted this earlier - why aren't the likes of PSG, United, City, Arsenal truly after Morata? Why is he going to AC Milan if he's so in demand and a top striker? Why are Chelsea and United more interested in Lukaku if Morata was the one we should be all looking at?

Eh... Everton didn't sit back as much under Martinez but they weren't exactly better than what they are now. You do realise the guy is still young right? People are acting like he's in the prime of his career and has failed to score in important games. Everton are much better now under Koeman overall than they are under Martinez too - their squad is much better and way more mature than what Martinez was dealing with... Also Koeman is just a better manager. Their big game approach this season is very defensive though - which is what I was highlighting. But whatever, it's your opinion. I wouldn't mind Belotti either fyi. You think the club should pay Belotti's release club?

No one has said otherwise?

There isn't enough evidence for that. Ian Wright explains excellently here why Lukaku doesn't score much against big teams (starts at 14:30): Now, what I would like to see from you is all these big chances that Romelu misses against big teams, when he rarely gets the opportunities to score in these games. I've seen a recurring theme from Everton in big games - they sit back far too much and literally take no initiative in the game. Their record against the top 6 is poor this season, and you can quite easily see why Romelu struggles there.

Top post for the 'Morata > Lukaku' gang. The evidence is there. Y'all trying to make Morata sound like prime R9.

No he isn't. He's one of the most clinical strikers in the league. Are you sure you're not talking about Diego? Lukaku shoots 64% of his shots on target per 90 mins, whilst Costa is at 53% (Premier League). Lukaku (3.03 attemps per game) has also scored more goals with less shots than Diego (3.24 attempts per game) so...

If Morata is so good, and if Conte really prefers him (I would love to know how you know), why is he going to AC Milan? Why aren't the likes of PSG, Chelsea, United, City all pushing for him?

It's a good idea but the only other striker I think worth around that money is Belotti, and we haven't been too strongly linked with him tbh. Don't think Conte fancies him, or else we'd probably be all over him. I think the Lukaku deal is set, can't lie. Edit: Everton like to see themselves level with the elite clubs but that just isn't happening. They have to sell Romelu imo, and I think it'll be more around the £60m mark than the £80m. If this is the case, it's a pretty fair deal in today's market. I genuinely don't think Everton have the clout to demand £100m for Romelu, and the fact that they owe us some money at the very least gives us some sort of advantage to leverage down the deal.

I think Everton still owe us some money from the Lukaku deal so, even if that is around the final price, that'll be with add ons and the money they owe us will be redacted too. Must be said, this is just a whim though.

There is a difference in keeping your options open and whoring yourself to some other club. The problem with Diego is that he has probably had less than 5 good performances since that China rumour, and he has been wanting to go back to Atletico for years, that's why people are questioning his commitment. Diego won't be loved anywhere near as much as he was loved before unless he has a proper world class season. I was one of Costa's defenders on here actually, but I'm not going to overlook the fact that he's not settled at CFC. You can't compare what Hazard says to that. Hazard is settled. Costa isn't. Besides, Eden literally said a few days ago that he can see himself staying at Chelsea for years.

We shall see indeed. IMO you don't have the right image of Lukaku in your head, just like I did a few months back, but he's become much more refined as a player. I'm sure he's going to have a better career than Morata who just happens to be part of some of the greatest teams in modern football. Morata is nothing but the new Soldado/Negredo to me. A good, solid Spanish striker.

Now you're making up stuff just to back up Costa. Not ONCE has Eden said that he wants to go to Real while he's been here, whereas Costa has SEVERAL times said he wants to go back to ATM, nonetheless his little fit in January. You can't compare the two.

I don't think he's going to go for £80m.

As long as he plays regularly. Would be fantastic if he was Newcastle's undisputed number 9, knocking points off our rivals.

Kolasinic is a good player but he isn't better than Alonso.

Jordi Alba would be a terrible signing. Barcelona are just trying to get rid of him. He'd die in the PL unless he's playing for Pep.

So glad we aren't spending stupid money on VVD. He's a good defender and will do well under Klopp but there are many other CBs out there just as good or even better. We should look closer at home and just give Christensen and Ake more game time. In fact, no CB in the world is really worth that money imo as it stands. Is Van Dijk really £60m better than Christensen or Ake? We should spend our cash elsewhere, seriously.

Tolisso and Lukaku would be a superb start to the transfer window. Hoping they both go through.

Bayern aren't signing Tolisso to replace Alonso, what a stupid rumour. Completely different players.

Auba isn't worth that much money either tbh. And he isn't much better than Romelu. Romelu has the advantage of being HG and can still grow as a player imo. Lukaku at 27 will be a better player IMO, as long as he continues to refine himself.

How do you know he's cheaper? United and PSG are currently in a bidding war for him, if you add us to that he's gonna go for £60/70m at least. We don't really know Lukaku's price - he's not going for a £100m, Everton are just bluffing.

I used to think the same but its clear he made the right move. Look at him now. Looking in hindsight, it was the best decision to make wasn't it? He's got lots more game time. He is on the upward trajectory as a player now, has improved year on year and now he might be on his way back to the PL champs, the club he's supported since he was a kid. He is proper Chelsea - the guy has supported Chelsea since his youth and has always said he wants to come back here. Of course CL football helps, but there are other clubs like United after him too, there were clubs overseas after him as well. His love for CFC damn right gave us some sort of advantage. The only thing I'm waiting for is the price of this deal - I just hope it isn't as ridiculous as been suggested, but you never know in today's transfer market.

No striker is available that would make us a better team. He's a sidestep from Costa.

Again all bullshit, Lukaku averages 88min per appearances this season.

Lukaku has scored 4 goals in his last 6 Belgium appearances, have some respect! I guess your Costa is nothing special either then, since he's absolutely average for Spain. Aguero, Higuain have the likes of Messi, Dybala and Di Maria behind and around them yet they're still pretty average on the world stage. The international argument can't save you. In what way is Morata a superior intelligent player exactly? Just because he's a bit technical for a striker does not mean he's automatically this super intelligent striker. He isn't a Bergkamp or something like that, far from it. Please quantify this intelligence you speak of, so we can exactly compare what Morata is so superior at compared to Lukaku when it comes to their football intelligence, if it's so easy to see. The only thing Lukaku has over Morata is finishing? So you're literally going to ignore the fact that Lukaku is a much better physical athlete than Morata? And ignore the fact that in Chelsea' current system, a powerful CF in Costa works well? I can flip it and say that I genuinely think the only thing Morata has over Lukaku is link up play. Lukaku isn't Didier either. The only thing that they have in common is the fact that they're big, black strikers. Apart from that, they're very different. The only people that still say he resembles Didier or tries to are Chelsea fans. He said this in 2012: People were questioning Harry Kane as well for years. People have literally just this season accepted that he's a top forward. You have no proof that Lukaku isn't good enough for CL. You have no proof that Lukaku won't win us big games either. This would be the first "elite" club he's ever been at in his career (properly). If it's Costa all over again, that's cool for me. We did after all win 2/3 PL titles with Costa as our main CF. Lukaku in my opinion can be just as effective as Costa in this system. In this system, Lukaku is a much better fit than Morata because he has a similar profile to Diego.