Romelu Lukaku

[Henrique 9,133]

If we had any other manager i would be worried, Jose doesn't pick players on reputation (Drogba/Sheva), if Lukaku is on better form than Costa, Jose will select him.

Actually Mourinho tried really hard with Shevchenko, I remember he even said that Schevchenko was going to play until he scored a goal.

So, Mourinho is not really different from other managers in this aspect.

[Henrique 9,133]

Its all up to Lukaku. He still is 20 years old (at least thats his official age). Diego Costa is 25 years old. He must decide what is better for him. He can be the 2nd CF choice for some seasons, until he can be our 1st choice (he can even play alongside Diego Costa), or he can be the 1st choice for Everton and follow Heskey footsteps.

[BlueLyon 9,359]

Lukaku will now be main striker for Belgium. He will show if he is ready or not. Im sure Jose wont take bad mentality and inexperience for our striker. He sure wants to have deadly striker next season. Besides I think its important to have some experience in the side, our whole attack is very young and inconsistent. But let Jose decide whats best...

If Lukaku isnt ready to wait for his chance at Chelsea, Im sure he wont stick for much longer. Jose wants his players to show all their trust in him and club. Lukaku's role next season has to be second striker. Hell, Bayern will keep Lewa and Mando probably, if Lukaku thinks he is bigger than the club, he can leave. I want our players to have some patience. After all Lukaku isnt some world class striker in his prime to demand starting role here. He is 20yo with two good seasons behind him and if he is actualy that good, he will push through and take first spot here eventualy. If he doesnt want to fight for the spot, he can leave.

[Weckerz 3,781]

Its all up to Lukaku. He still is 20 years old (at least thats his official age).

He's born and raised in Belgium, birth certificates don't get lost here like in 3rd world countries...

[Mohammed Seif 1,451]

Its all up to Lukaku. He still is 20 years old (at least thats his official age). Diego Costa is 25 years old. He must decide what is better for him. He can be the 2nd CF choice for some seasons, until he can be our 1st choice (he can even play alongside Diego Costa), or he can be the 1st choice for Everton and follow Heskey footsteps.

Like you said it is really up to him. If he feels that he is better than our strikers (which is the case in my opinion) and that he should start and play regu;arly then he has to fight for it. He has to force Mourinho to respect his game and his qualities. It should not be hard for him judging on the competition he has. Also Jose is in a very stucky sitation regarding our offensive approach. I hardly think any manager will bench his best striker to play the expensive useless one. But the kid has got to fight and show character. Pre season should be enough for him to prove it in my opinion.

[johnnythefirst 1,076]

Its all up to Lukaku. He still is 20 years old (at least thats his official age).

He was born and raised in Antwerp, not in the Congo basin. He's 20.

[Baba 10]

Selling Lukaku would be such a waste. I know Mourinho wants the right mentality from his players but... He got so much quality.

And he hasn't got the right mentality why? Because he wants to play?

[duo11bluecl 207]

Actually Mourinho tried really hard with Shevchenko, I remember he even said that Schevchenko was going to play until he scored a goal.

So, Mourinho is not really different from other managers in this aspect.

Until it gets to the point where he just has to drop the player like Casillas

[johnnythefirst 1,076]

I'm fairly convinced he'll walk by now.

Many of you are calling him stupid, but he's smart enough to know he'll never be the first choice striker for Chelsea in the next few years. He'll take a small step back (I think he'll want to stay at Everton if it was up to him), keep scoring them goals and be bought by one of the top teams again when he's 24-25.

[johnnythefirst 1,076]

Until it gets to the point where he just has to drop the player like Casillas

Still not sure if Casillas really had to be dropped. At the end, it looked to me Mourinho was so tired of being at Real he was practically asking to get fired by kicking everyone's shins.

[quickpassnmove 924]

Let's see: Lukaku can return to Chelsea, play/train with D. Drogba, play with Eto'o and, again, play for his favorite boyhood club under Jose. I'm thinking he gets some time to prove himself at SB and he will come back. Forget the rumours. It's just going to be up to him to improve his play in front of opposition centre backs. Didier should coach him. If he still looks like he'd rather be playing RW after a period of time back with Chelsea, I'm thinking he either becomes a RW or he gets sold.

[Henrique 9,133]

He's born and raised in Belgium, birth certificates don't get lost here like in 3rd world countries...

Humm, there are fake countries in 1st world, why not fake birth certificates...

[kellzfresh 7,226]

[Belgiannutt 3,201]

Humm, there are fake countries in 1st world, why not fake birth certificates...

[petre.ispirescu 4,928]

I'm fairly convinced he'll walk by now.

Many of you are calling him stupid, but he's smart enough to know he'll never be the first choice striker for Chelsea in the next few years. He'll take a small step back (I think he'll want to stay at Everton if it was up to him), keep scoring them goals and be bought by one of the top teams again when he's 24-25.

Doesn't make sense for me. Why go there on a transfer and wait for someone to buy you in three or four years time when you can go there on loan from Chelsea? If he really wants to stay there, then let him stay at Everton for three years, on loan, just like Courtois.

But I think it's too early to talk about him leaving Chelsea. Of course he's not ready yet to lead the line, but at the same time Jose is not that stupid to sell one of the best prospects in European football. Imagine him going to Atletico and tearing La Liga apart. Then Paris comes and gets him for £50M. Jose knows he can't do that. He'll loan him until he will consider his time has come to lead the line.

But no way Chelsea will sell him this summer. As a matter of fact, if Lukaku was an Everton player, I bet we would have had a topic for him in the Transfer Talk. And dozens of pages by now. And media claiming Jose, Wenger, Ancelotti, everyone on Earth is interested in signing him

[Blue Armour 4,158]

I don't know if Lukaku will make it big here, but after seeing Mata perform for United and Sturridge for Liverpool...I don't want to think of another "what might have been" scenario with Lukaku.

[dee25 1,044]

Maybe Jose, like any of the four managers before him, wanted to give Torres a chance to prove he's still got what it takes? Torres, like usual, has then done fuck all to convince anyone and it's been clear for a long time now that Mourinho is frustrated with him and would probably try someone else if only we had another option. Had Lukaku stayed he would eventually have gotten his chance and by now would most likely be permanently ahead of Torres in the pecking order but he showed his immaturity by doing something no one has ever succeeded in doing before, going head to head against Jose and wanting reassurances about the amount of playing time he would be getting under him. Thing is, Mourinho doesn't do reassurances. He wants all players to be fully committed to him and prove their worth in training and the ones that deserve it will get their chance but clearly Lukaku wasn't willing to fight for his place.

I'm not going to quote the whole thing but I'm just going to say that this whole "he wasn't willing to fight for his place" narrative is one of the most overused football cliches that needs to be put to death - a slow painful death. People who tend to throw around statements like that often times use it as a way to deflect responsibility from their club and onto the departing player. I'm not saying you're doing that, you at least acknowledge that Lukaku's decision is understandable.

I just think that none of us really know what transpired between Lukaku and Mourinho that led to him requesting a loan so I think to say that he wasn't willing to fight for his place is a gross assumption.

Secondly anyone who has played a team sport and done so while competing at a high level will know that in order to "fight for your place" requires that you actually do have a place in the team that's worth fighting for. Young players need to be given reassurances that the club/management values them otherwise they're not going to feel that there's actually a place for them in the team and if they don't feel valued and validated then how can they then be motivated to keep on fighting?

I also think your point about Mourinho not doing reassurances is absolutely not true.

Marco Van Ginkel and Kalas have already said they received reassurances personally from Mourinho and your other point about the possibility of Mourinho being pissed at Lukaku is just wild speculations. Imo the club needed to have brought in a top class centre forward. They couldn't bring in the one they wanted, fair enough but the mistake they made was putting their faith in Torres (once again) rather than taking a punt with Lukaku.

A strike force of Eto'o and Lukaku would have put us in a far better position for a title challenge. Although I agree that had Lukaku stayed he definitely would have gotten a chance but that doesn't really make a difference to him because he's gone on to do well at Everton at any case. The one who is at disadvantage from Lukaku being out on loan is not Lukaku..... it's us.

[bouletje 82]

A 20 year old should never ever sit on a bench, nowhere. If he's not chelsea material at-the-moment, we HAVE to loan him out, if it's needed, even one more year.

He simply can't take the risk to be sitting on a bench, the kid HAS to play until his 22, from then on we'll see.

It's a pretty simple and basic rule in football, if at that age you are sitting on a bench somewhere, you simply HAVE TO drop a level and play somewhere else.

The view of some of you lot is of significance from the moment you speak about a 27 (more aged) player in his prime, not of a highly talented 20year old.

Words about mentality etc, Well imo his mentality is pro chelsea in the long run.

And i see hazard/Ronaldo/Messi numbers at age 22 being compared alot as a reference(not that I believe those say anything) but i wouldn't mind seeing lukaku's being compared to theirs.