🇧🇪 Romelu Lukaku

[Bosnian Blue 2,471]

Everton want a 100 million for Lukaku who hasnt even played a Champions League match. For fucks sake. We sold him 2 years ago to them for 28 mil, he couldnt possibly be more than two times better than he was at the time (that would mean maximum 55-60 mil). Realistically his value is around 40-45M.

On the other hand Madrid want 78 mil for their second/third choice striker. The bloke who had one above average season at Juventus, but nothing more than that. Never lead the line to anything big, not in the national team even.

The football market has gone absolutely bonkers. I am glad we are not yet a part of this and as much as we fucked up with the Torres deal I think the club learnt a big lesson from that mistake. Hopefully we can make a few smart signings and remain competitive next season. 

[Chelsea Legend 11 4,062]

24 minutes ago, AK-3001 said:

I know, it's all over Twitter though, various sources have reported in the last hour. 

 

The likes of Fabrizio Romano, Alex Shaw, DiMarzio..

 

Too much smoke to not catch attention.

DiMarzio is on it... say no more its on!

[BlueLyon 9,359]

31 minutes ago, Chelsea Legend 11 said:

I respect yours as well, I would hope you would know how to extrapolate what the hard stats mean in the context of one's evaluation of a player. Obviously anyone whose watched them both play knows Morata has the better ball control. What the stat shows is Lukaku, perhaps through being more isolated, has improved in his ability to go at players 1 v 1. He's not exactly a donkey when in possession and also has a heightened sense of awareness as to when to release the ball to players in better positions.

There is nothing clear as day that illustrates Morata has better vision. I think you're formulating opinions that suit the idea you have in your head for Morata. 

What I said was you can't determine how hard one works by comparing them in two different set ups. I also said Lukaku works hard on his game because he always comes back a better player than the year before.

And you are correct most powerful strikers learn how to use their size later on which is what makes Lukaku even more intriguing. He's still figuring out how to make the best use of his body yet he's still scoring 20+ goals meaning he's not just relying on his physicality to score.

I'm biased... Drogba to me was the most complete striker I'd ever see play. On his day he was the hardest striker to deal with. Left foot, right foot, headers, in the box or outside it, pace, power, decent technique. Inzaghi, if I remember correctly was more of a fox in the box type. Clinical inside the 18, great header of the ball but hardly scored any absolute golazo's

Morata needs to score more on a regular basis for me to see him as our striker for the future. Lukaku seems like the type that will do anything to score for Chelsea and at the age of 24, I can't think of many available strikers who combine passion for the club and finishing.

Good post, I just wanted to point out that stats you mentioned show just a little bit of who they are. On paper it seems to be clear that Lukaku has the upper hand in dribbling and passing, however that is not entirely true. Many times the dribbling stats are misleading, like with Adama. Its not how many times certain player dribbles, but more when he does it. Verratti and Bakayoko have very similar dribbles per game, and we both know that Verratti is much much more composed player in tight areas. Morata and Lukaku are similar in that aspect. For example, Lukaku makes a dribble with no end result. In stats he racked that dribble, but they wont tell you those dribbles were rather useless. And as of now I havent seen him dribble in a way to create chance for himself out of nowhere against better teams. Morata, having played with better players, learned when to release the ball in order of fluid football. He knows he is not the only good player on team and needs to cooperate to win. Lukaku on other hand has status of main player at Everton and everything there is orchestrated for him. If he wants to shoot, he shoots. If he wants to dribble, he dribbles. And it works against smaller sides, but against more organised teams with better individuals, it doesnt work. And he doesnt have that passing, ball control ability to break such opponents with his teammates.

What happens after the dribble is quite more important than dribble itself. And IMO Morata here acts as more mature player. Knows when to dribble, when to pass. If we talk about stats, Morata has much better pass percentage, which further confirms he is more composed player.

Dont get me wrong, on medium level Lukaku is nearly your perfect striker. But I wonder if he can perform at the highest level which is obviously the whole point. I dont want another striker who will break every third attack with attempted dribble or shot.

Lukaku is ambitious but not in the right way. He believes he is brilliant player already and tries one thing too many, but thing is he is not yet such good player and for team as whole, thats not realy a good sign.

I see what you meant with his hardwork. Indeed he is improving every season and works hard to get better. But on the pitch, he doesnt track back enough and help his teammates. Im not sure how will this pan out with Conte. Dont forget the bust up with Williams, which was the very same situation we will try to avoid once we sell Costa.

Whoever will work out better, I hope Conte gets his man. Be it Lukaku or Morata. The last thing we need is board signing and forcing Conte to work with someone he doesnt want to, because our striker needs whole support from coach to improve.

[Chelsea Legend 11 4,062]

12 minutes ago, BlueLyon said:

Good post, I just wanted to point out that stats you mentioned show just a little bit of who they are. On paper it seems to be clear that Lukaku has the upper hand in dribbling and passing, however that is not entirely true. Many times the dribbling stats are misleading, like with Adama. Its not how many times certain player dribbles, but more when he does it. Verratti and Bakayoko have very similar dribbles per game, and we both know that Verratti is much much more composed player in tight areas. Morata and Lukaku are similar in that aspect. For example, Lukaku makes a dribble with no end result. In stats he racked that dribble, but they wont tell you those dribbles were rather useless. And as of now I havent seen him dribble in a way to create chance for himself out of nowhere against better teams. Morata, having played with better players, learned when to release the ball in order of fluid football. He knows he is not the only good player on team and needs to cooperate to win. Lukaku on other hand has status of main player at Everton and everything there is orchestrated for him. If he wants to shoot, he shoots. If he wants to dribble, he dribbles. And it works against smaller sides, but against more organised teams with better individuals, it doesnt work. And he doesnt have that passing, ball control ability to break such opponents with his teammates.

What happens after the dribble is quite more important than dribble itself. And IMO Morata here acts as more mature player. Knows when to dribble, when to pass. If we talk about stats, Morata has much better pass percentage, which further confirms he is more composed player.

Dont get me wrong, on medium level Lukaku is nearly your perfect striker. But I wonder if he can perform at the highest level which is obviously the whole point. I dont want another striker who will break every third attack with attempted dribble or shot.

Lukaku is ambitious but not in the right way. He believes he is brilliant player already and tries one thing too many, but thing is he is not yet such good player and for team as whole, thats not realy a good sign.

I see what you meant with his hardwork. Indeed he is improving every season and works hard to get better. But on the pitch, he doesnt track back enough and help his teammates. Im not sure how will this pan out with Conte. Dont forget the bust up with Williams, which was the very same situation we will try to avoid once we sell Costa.

Whoever will work out better, I hope Conte gets his man. Be it Lukaku or Morata. The last thing we need is board signing and forcing Conte to work with someone he doesnt want to, because our striker needs whole support from coach to improve.

Impossible to disprove what you're saying here, most of this is highly subjective. I mainly was saying what the stats show me about Lukaku's game. Comparing players has become the norm with stats but truly its not the best measure because its mostly about deployment and system. Morata hasn't shown me enough to bid 78m for him... Seems like a ludicrous number for a guy who hasn't played a lot of football. His game seems polished but not effective. You said you want a guy who can win you a game and lead the line, I just don't see him as that type of player and there's no evidence to suggest he is.

What happens after the dribble is also about what is happening in the game. Lukaku like to play on the shoulder of defenders and beat them with pace. A lot of the times he dribbles and opens up for a shot which is precisely how I think a striker should utilize a dribble. He does that countless times and has had loads of success with it. I wouldn't say Morata is more mature, I'd say he's more refined/polished. He has loads to learn if he wants to lead the line for a big club. 

You're not going to get the striker you're after mainly because those types either don't switch or go to the absolute big boys. Morata doesn't come close to fitting the bill, he too is a medium striker if you ask me.

Very hard to discern what type of player Lukaku can be in a real team with a system in place. I can't say with any certainty that he's one way or another, all I know is he loves chelsea and has scored a ton of goals in the premier league which is extremely hard to do.

The bust up with Williams was nothing compared to what you get with Costa and the system dictates how you play. How do you know Koeman wants his striker to prevent teams from playing out from the back? He seems like the type of manager that can definitely get his players to play his football, if he wanted Lukaku to close down more I'm sure he would.

 

[King11Didier 916]

This boy went to Everton, because was scared from the grandpa Eto'o for 1st place in the team I don't really rate him and I'm more against this transfer. Why?
I believe we can try to sign some others strikers that I'd prefer them in Chelsea - Morata/Aubameyang/Belotti(eventhough he might be a risk for such a big sum).
I don't think he worths the money that Everton ask for, I haven't actually seen reported sum about the transfer, but I don't believe it will be below 50-60mln. If we are ready to pay big sum for Lukaku, we better do it for someone else mentioned above from me.
On the other side, it might be interesting, the boy will probably come motivated and ready to prove himself this time and perform well with us and I really hope that will be the case if he actually signs for Chelsea, also will bring dangerous in the air, something we are totally missing with Costa and we really need. There are also still a lot of questions about our forwards for the next season - is Costa leaving, are we gonna play with two strikers (Lukaku, Bats partnership could be interesting), is Bats staying or leaving? A lot of important choices in fron of Conte and I hope everything is gonna be clear as soon as possible so we can have beneficial pre-season.

[Yeboii 1,844]

26 minutes ago, King11Didier said:

 

This boy went to Everton, because was scared from the grandpa Eto'o for 1st place in the team

 

Remember the "grandpa" your talking about is Samuel Eto'o. One of the most legendary strikers ever to play the game. Eto'o did really well for us, and it was evident he was going to play.

[Stats 7,144]

Some of the bullshit I read about him is beyond ridiculous. I actually saw a poster say earlier that he is "fat". One of the most stupidest comments I have seen. The guy is clearly a physical athlete. Another claiming, Conte does not want Lukaku. LOL After what Conte  done here, I am quite sure he will have control over majority of transfers if not all. Same way Luiz, Alonso was not his buy right and panic buy? Ok, OK. I

 mean he has his flaws and can be frustrating but like really, look at the positives. The guy is 24 goals and has done more at his age than most of the top strikers around have not done when they were of the same age. Just look at where Costa was when he was 24 and where Lukaku is. Also this 'big game' theory is such a cop out. He scores against big teams but has his games where he is poor. Like Skipper said, Everton this season, away from home have been really defensive and it would be hard for any striker to draw out chances with the way they have set up. Kane has only one goal in open play against the 'big teams' this season IIRC. Does that not make him a top striker? It is just a overused criticism to have at a player people don't like. Judge him in his 'big games' record when he plays for a big team because I am sure in few years time, you will look at his record against top teams and his CV will look impressive. Anyway, every season, he has scored goals against top teams. Just a cop out, like I said.

Anyway, it seems United have had a bid rejected for Morata and will turn attention towards Belotti if that fails which basically confirms Lukaku is on his way to us surely? People need to start getting behind him and appreciate a player who actually has a huge desire to play here and won't have theatrics around him every season. he is a big fan from a young age and wants to be here. Hope like Luiz, people are forced to eat humble pie by the end of the season and admit they were proved wrong.

He has pace, power, scores goals with his left, right and head. Ultimately a very complete striker bar few technical deficiencies, he will score goals like his records show. Also as well as being a short term investment, this is a long term investment as he still as years at the top level. People will soon appreciate that one of our rivals don't have him and we do.

[Mário César 1,274]

For those that preferred Diego over Lukaku, you have notion that we can't have the guarantee that Diego will perfoming performing like the first half of the last season, right? Maybe he goes to Atletico in January and we can receive a good mount of money that reduce the money that we will spend in Lukaku.

I like the attitude and mentaliy of Lukaku and he proved that he can score a lot of goals in premierleague. Its a important aspect.

[DoubleO 192]

No doubt he has the abilities to be one of the greatest strikers of the game. He's a quick and strong striker who has got that nose for goal. I also think that from the technical and strategic aspect he has developed a lot at Everton. I remember how glad I was when we signed him for the first time, but maybe the expectations were too high back then. He was just a boy with a good goal scoring record in the Belgian league, but was lacking aforementioned technical and strategic skills that are essential in the Premier League. Of course he's still young, but I think that he has proved himself at Everton. He can score goals in the PL and be a leading character in the team. At the age of 24, this is exceptional. Maybe he can do the same here as King Didier. 

[the wes 7,212]

[wilander 35]

I believe that Emenalo receives return commission for Lukaku deal! 

 

[11Drogba 2,000]

I believe Emenalo is the head of Spectre.

[Eidur the Spider 4,515]

I had a feeling this move was going to happen even so far as a few months back.

The only thing for me, in terms of a negative, is that we will have to spend an extraordinary amount of money to bring him back here, to a place where he's a massive fan and wants to be. I don't get why we don't insist on a potential buy back clause. I know it's easier said than done but the short sightedness of the Chelsea transfer makers is kind of annoying at times. I know it shouldn't matter if Romelu ends up coming back and banging 20 goals next season, but I just hope when it comes to selling players lil Traore and Heaven forbid someone like Ake, we are a bit smarter.

I'm probably in the minority when I say that of the strikers AVAILABLE and WANT to come to the club, Lukaku is my number one option. He's premier league proven, still young, and the manager we have now is the sort who could turn him from occasional beast to an absolute destroyer, a la Drogba on his day.

I just hope we don't have to pay too much to bring back someone we already had.

[bluephoenix 1,131]

why are we so positive that he has signed for us?

twist of tale what if he signed for City KDB went there and any footballer wuould love to work under Pep wouldnt they? United ( that would be ridiculous after what Mou did to him during his time at Chelsea)

[Cosmin 2,484]

10 minutes ago, bluephoenix said:

 

twist of tale what if he signed for City KDB went there and any footballer wuould love to work under Pep wouldnt they?

I don't think he really fits into Guardiola's system, but who knows.

After United's offer for Morata, I think it's quite clear that they won't get Lukaku.

[BlueLyon 9,359]

5 hours ago, Mana said:

....you do know Costa was bullied plenty of times against average defenders right? Stop turning a blind eye on that. He was even bullied by Tortoise Mertesacker, who only played 1 PL game all season.

You criticise a 24 year old Lukaku, for the same things Costa has done or worse - yet you defend Costa with no bounds.

You even went on about Lukaku's average international record with Belgium during your discussions...have you seen Costa's?! Arguably worse! He can't even make the starting XI in tournaments and most of Costa's Spanish goals are against tiny clubs like Albania.

Every striker gets bullied sometimes. Costa proved himself in many big games, cant be said the same for Lukaku who just happens to be prone on dissapearing against better teams.

I dont defend Costa, which part here u dont get? Im willing to sell him because he is loose character and unreliable, but only if we get proper replacement.

However I dont like the fact people shit on Costa every day, since Costa doesnt deserve that crap he gets on forum, not after all he did for us.

I only mentioned Lukaku international career for one reason since some belive he will be instantly better around better players, which is not the case in belgium team. But yeah Costa is bad for spain too. 

[Special Juan 28,141]

United chucking money at Morata now with a bid lodged, looks like it's Lukaku to us now for sure.

 

[Magic Lamps 11,692]

Lukaku deal makes no sense whatsoever. His development since joining Everton has been exactly as expected when he left. A perfectly linear trajectory. He has always been like this, at Anderlecht, WBA or on his loan spell at Everton. Scoring multiple times against small sides and disappearing completely against the big ones. There is no way he justifies that fee and I am not confident at all that he will good enough to lead the line against top teams. Physically, he can dominate almost any defender in world football but a skilfull centre back will still nullify his presence completely. He was up  vs 1,68m Philip Lahm when we were 2-1 up in the UEFA Super Cup against Bayern. He was brought in for Torres to hold the line and keep high balls from. He could not even  win a throw in and produced nothing but turnovers. In the shootout he delivered one of the worst pens in history. He is still very much that player. 

[LondonsFinest 692]

Let me start this long post off by saying: "I do not want Lukaku, as much, nor do I rate him as big as some people do."

However, Lukaku has massively improved. I was one of the people who was slating him, because he really was frustrating. But, Koeman has worked on his technical aspects. I will lay out my arguments on why Lukaku would be able to replace Diego and why he wouldn't, so please bear with me, here:

- Diego isn't better than him technically - Diego is as frustrating as you can get, when off form. Dire passing, no dribbling ability, rarely manages to hold on to the ball, can't shield with his body, no aerial pressence. He offers NOTHING. Basically like playing with 10 men. Lukaku, while not being the second coming of Suarez, is still an okay player with the ball at his feet. He also has a good aerial presence on him, good headers. He can shield and bully defenders. He also has okay passing on him, can name quite a few times he has managed to create fast counter-attacks, make one - twos or just combine with a teammate in no - way Diego would.

- He is playing in an above average Everton - He has nobody, who can constantly come up with something out of nothing. Barkley, Mirallas, Lookman , etc. are all inconsistent in their performances. He doesn't have the service, which he could have here. Difference with Hazard/Pedro/ Cesc in behind him, who all offer something different for him to be able to pounce on.

- Big Games - Above point being the main factor. People want Lukaku to be a nuisance and conquer big games. How can he? Against Liverpool, against United, Everton couldn't create anything. The one time, everything was clicking for them, was vs. City, and Lukaku and Davies were the main culprits, and unsurprisingly they won 4 - 0. And let's be honest, has Diego really been THAT unreal in big games? Or any striker in the league, maybe bar Aguero(who has also missed tons of chances in those games, which is worse), for that matter? Diego was unreal vs City. PSG last year. Pretty much it. His goals vs. Liverpool, United were tap - ins. Not saying they aren't goals, but would Lukaku miss? He could, but would he really? Diego has also went missing in big games, let's not act like it isn't true.

- Age - He is still relatively young. Much work can be done with him. He can develop even more. And as recent interviews from him and team-mates/coaches have came out, he always likes to develop and up his game. Reason why his overall play is SO MUCH different to before.

- Goals - This year us becoming champions has just again cemented the fact that wins vs. small sides guarantee you Championships. And Lukaku does guarantee goals. Especially with an increased batch of service.

- HG - Counts for the HG quota. Which is why I think we're targeting mostly him

- Lack of WC forwards - Belotti's amazing, but will cost even more perhaps. Icardi won't leave. Who else is out there?

Things that put me off the move:

Technicality -  What if, this his ceilling from a technical point of view? I doubt it, but what if? He will be a 50/50 player, who will create some and ruin some. Not much of an upgrade to Diego. Just a small one.

Lack of experience - He's yet to lead a line as big as Chelsea's. All props to Everton, but the expectations aren't as big as with us. He has to guarantee goals and creativity in order to be our new no. 9. And do it on a consistent basis for it to be the right choice and to please fans. Especially the ones who will be on his back, because of the fact they do not rate him. Plus, he's never really played in the CL. The only time he's been leading a line from the top level is Belgium, and he is hit and miss there, BUT there is the problem with Wilmots and the fact the whole Belgium squad is still hot and cold, despite all the potential.

Price tag - Yes, I know the inflation of prices. I realize he won't cost 30 mil. given the fact he's bagged 20 + goals on a regular basis, but in no way should he cost more than 50. Won't renew. Wants to leave. Should lower the price. We can't force ourselves to overpay for him. Would rather watch Alexis at the 9, if we get him, or just throw the money at Icardi and try for him.

 

 

 

Can argue about all of the Pros for hours, tbf,  so yeah.

[Special Juan 28,141]

17 minutes ago, Magic Lamps said:

Lukaku deal makes no sense whatsoever. His development since joining Everton has been exactly as expected when he left. A perfectly linear trajectory. He has always been like this, at boro, WBA or on his loan spell at Everton. Scoring multiple times against small sides and disappearing completely against the big ones. There is no way he justifies that fee and I am not confident at all that he will good enough to lead the line against top teams. Physically, he can dominate almost any defender in world football but a skilfull centre back will still nullify his presence completely. He was up 1,68m Philip Lahm when we were 2-1 up in the UEFA Super Cup against Bayern. He was brought in for Torres to hold the line and keep high balls from. He could not even  win a throw in and produced nothing but turnovers. In the shootout he delivered one of the worst pens in history. He is still very much that player. 

He's never played for Boro.