Romelu Lukaku

[Eggman 118]

In my honest opinion, I think that he should be loaned out again next season. I'll explain why.

Let's be honest here. Even if we take him back in the summer, we will still have to buy another striker. Yes we play with only one striker so two should suffice and blablabla... Romelu seems to be doing more than alright at West Bromwich. Although, realistically speaking, it will be a whole another melody to perform well at a club which is aiming the title. I am not saying that he won't ; I am just saying that it won't happen overnight and it will probably take him more than one year to impose himself as the n°1 and as a very good striker. And, on a second hand, we have Ba. Let's not be afraid of saying this : he is good but not very good. I mean, it's not the striker you'd have in your starting team if you were aiming for the summits of European football. Furthermore, if I am not mistaken, he has serious concerns with his knee(s) ; he cannot play more than once per week. In other words, that's not a striker on which you can count to drag you towards the top.

I strongly believe that having only Ba and Lukaku as strikers next year will be one more step toward the mediocrity...

So, after having said that, it appears clear — at least to my mind — that we need to buy another striker in the summer, regardless of the situation of Lukaku. But what kind of striker ? A stop-gap in order to make the transition between Ba and Lukaku ? Or a world-class striker who will be undoubtly our starter for the two/three next years ? I'd take the later, without the shadow of an hesitation. First off, we should rule out Ba for the mid-term / long-term. Considering his knee(s), it's the wisest thing to do — we have build in castles into the air for too long. No no no, we have to buy someone of Cavini caliber.

Therefore, Lukaku might find his way to the first team restraint. Which could stale his development. That's not what we want, for his own sake — and for ours too. Cavani (for the sake of the debate) would be de facto be the n°1 striker ; and Ba could have the benefit of the age over Romelu.

That's why I think he should be loaned out again next season. He should make slowly his way into West Bromwich starting eleven (granted he stays there) and then he will be apt to take a big part into Chelsea. It seems that even him wants to be loaned one more year. So if he feels that's the better for his development, why not grant him that ? On a long term perspective, that'll also be the best thing for Chelsea. It's better to let him blossom away from the poisonous atmosphere of this club.

At least, that's how I fashion the upcoming year.

I agree. Although I'd love to see Lukaku in a Blues shirt, it is perhaps too early (that is, if you want to compete for the chamionship) for him to "carry" the attack as a 20 year old.

It comes down to 2 scenarios: (1) give him one more year on loan at a more dominantly playing club to further develop, and thus buy another top striker for next season to replace goldy locks. (2) keep Lukaku as a second striker and buy a striker with ability who can immediately be called upon (ideally then, a striker in his thirties who does not mind sitting on the bench occasionely, who has experience and who is a killer). I wonder though, who this should be.

[Changingman_2000 876]

Romelu Lukaku has been blinding this year, absolutely blinding. I said at the time that he is fucking miles better than Ba. I may be wrong but, as far as I am aware, these season long loan deals can be reviewed in the January transfer window. If thats the case then doing 7M on Ba, when we could have got Romelu back is just rank bad business. Lukaku is better then both of our options, and by some distance.

Surely he'll be wearing a Chelsea shirt next season. The next manager will hopefully sort that issue out pronto and punt Torres. Ba will become a kind of Kezman figure, lasting barely a season before being flogged at a loss.

[LukakutoStamford 779]

It's better to patient with him and a second loan year would be better in the long run. The team here needs to get quiet a few things sorted before they can move forward to be a legitimate contender for PL title. Coaching, midfield, playing system, defense all need to be sorted before Lukaku should move back to Chelsea. The last thing that needs to happen is rushing him back to Chelsea and having him falter because he hasn't developed into a consistent player and everyone is expecting 25+ PL goals from him.

He'd be better off returning to West Brom for another year and getting more time and starts.

He's doing well because he's being gradually brought along and he needs more time to develop. Tossing him in next year could work but you run the risk of ruining him because of the immense pressure of expectations of both him and Chelsea.

[TorontoChelsea 4,064]

It's better to patient with him and a second loan year would be better in the long run. The team here needs to get quiet a few things sorted before they can move forward to be a legitimate contender for PL title. Coaching, midfield, playing system, defense all need to be sorted before Lukaku should move back to Chelsea. The last thing that needs to happen is rushing him back to Chelsea and having him falter because he hasn't developed into a consistent player and everyone is expecting 25+ PL goals from him. He'd be better off returning to West Brom for another year and getting more time and starts. He's doing well because he's being gradually brought along and he needs more time to develop. Tossing him in next year could work but you run the risk of ruining him because of the immense pressure of expectations of both him and Chelsea.

Exactly. Lukaku has generally played very well this year, but Chelsea right now do not play a system where strikers can succeed. We are a team that's set-up around our attacking midfielders which leads to the best chances falling to our midfielders. (This is not to excuse Torres, he's been awful, but our system also doesn't help strikers). WBA plays a system that works around setting up the striker. WBA's top three scorers are all strikers. Chelsea's top three scorers are all midfielders. I'd rather Chelsea bring in a new manager next year, get a system in place that fits the team and is working and then bring back Lukaku. I'm less worried about KDB because he is versatile enough to play in any system, but one always has to be concerned if a young striker has a tough spell that they may lose confidence. I wouldn't be against bringing Lukaku back, but I don't think it's a given no matter how well he does. (First things first, Torres needs to go.)

[Rambo 1,729]

Understatement of the year from Gary Lineker: "He (Lukaku) is putting Torres in the shade at the moment".

I'd love to see him back at the Bridge next season, but I have a bad feeling that the club has infinite patience where Torres is concerned.

If we had the same kind of patience with Torres as we did for our managers then we wouldn't be in the position we are in today.

[Jype 6,398]

If we had the same kind of patience with Torres as we did for our managers then we wouldn't be in the position we are in today.

We don't know what the Abramovich and the board think of Torres, they may have lost faith just the same as us but what can they do in the middle of a season? Sacking a manager is a much simpler decision because he can be replaced at any time and the club don't have to worry about whether or not he can find another job after failing at Chelsea but getting rid of an expensive flop of a player is more difficult as he can only be sold during a transfer window and some other has to be interested in investing in the player. As much as me and a bunch of other guys said it in the summer that Torres is past it and going into the season with him as our main man was always going to end in tears, I still understand the club's decision because the money invested in him was so massive and if there was even a slightest of chance that Torres would 'be back to his best' with our new creative players behind him and him as the number one striker it was a risk they simply had to take. Now even they can't deny that Fernando is finished and no matter who we bring in to help him our other strikers Ba and Lukaku can still do the job better than him so paying this flop £175k a week isn't worth it. When even our fans boo him at our home games you know it has reached the point of no return.

Anyway, back to Lukaku. I'm so glad he can't play against us this weekend, WBA will be without their most influential striker and I doubt they will recall Odemwingie for that game either. Not too worried about Shane Long playing as their lone striker.

[CHOULO19 24,332]

Lukaku should only return next season if the next manager sees that having only him and Ba as strikers is enough for the team (if we continue to play with a lone striker). Other wise he won't be getting any time here just like last season.

[Korea 734]

I don't watch West brom much, but does Shane long play cf and lukaku plays off of him? Does lukaku actually get marked?

[Waterfall 893]

Tough to say because West Brom changes their formation quite often. Long and Lukaku switch a lot, but it's usually Lukaku up front and Long doing all the dirty work.

[Stingray 9,441]

Does lukaku actually get marked?

Nah, they all just leave him completely free all the time...

[Atholy 1,293]

Nah, they all just leave him completely free all the time...

It took the opposition's sides 3 games before even noticing he was on the pitch!

The small bloke he is

[Stingray 9,441]

It took the opposition's sides 3 games before even noticing he was on the pitch!

The small bloke he is

Yeah, he sure is microscope material :-)

[Gorando 184]

Lukaku making a great impression on Belgian tv right now. He seems to have matured so much over the last 12 months.

[Atholy 1,293]

Lukaku making a great impression on Belgian tv right now. He seems to have matured so much over the last 12 months.

Do you speak dutch or did you just choose the wrong flag in the beginning ?

But anyways... it's true! A very open hearted interview! I will give a brief summary in the next post!

[Atholy 1,293]

I'm afraid not a lot of you will have seen the interview (let alone be able to understand a single word they say ).

So here's the summary of the most important things that have been said:

• He's feeling really well and is in Belgium because his Brother (Jordan Lukaku) came back from the Viareggio Cup (Anderlecht's -21 won the tournament and Jordan played a hell of a tournament => AC Milan showed interest today). Romelu had a day off and wanted to see his brother.
• Funny fact is that if Rom's had stayed at Anderlecht he too could have joined the team in the Viareggio Cup => he's still only 19 years old!!
• His two goals against Sunderland (and Belgium goalie Simon Mignolet)
  • Host laughs a little with the fact that the penalty wasn't given well => Romelu explains he was nervous because he trains a lot on PK with Simon in the national squad. "Simon knows perfectly which my corner is".
  • The 2nd goal was a 'lucky' goal Lukaku admits. But also purely on power, character & perseverance.
• A brief moment to take a look at the statistics of youngest goalscorers in the EPL. Lukaku is currently in 4th place (behind Anelka, Owen & Fowler... BUT in front of Ronaldo, Rooney & Keane)
  • The interviewer asks Lukaku if he realizes how good he actually is:
    • Romelu says he doesn't really care about statistics. He says that because he started so early... it's easier for him to brake such records.
    • Interviewer: "Romelu you are amongs the best young players to have ever shined in the EPL... that is amazing"
    • Lukaku: "Yes ok, that's not too bad. But I want to achieve more." He wants to be on top of that list... and he also wants to be more important for his team in order to end the season on the highest possible spot in the table.
• Funny fact: In the beginning of the season some games where he missed 4-5 chances. He tells when he got home, his father called him "DUDE, what's wrong with you" .
• Then back to last season: "You got a lot of critiscism in your first year at Chelsea. Was there a moment where you started to doubt yourself?"
  • No. I you start to doubt yourself... it's better to just quit. The press can really brake you down if you're not mentally strong. He says he somehow expected things to happen this way because you cannot always be successful in your career (after two amazing seasons at Anderlecht). So mentally he was ready to deal with such a period. He also says that most of the greatest players have a bad time somewhere around their 20-21 years... Romelu hopes he had his lesser period last year... and from now on he will continue to be successfull.
• "Do you have a sort of 'sweet revenge' feeling towards Chelsea at the moment"
  • "Totally not! I'm very happy with the way things are going at the moment".
• Then the moment of the video where he visited Stamford Bridge for the very first time ('the moment I play here... will be the only moment my parents will see me cry')
  • Interviewer: "One year later you played there. And when will you be playing there again" (=> when will you return to Chelsea?)
  • Lukaku: "Very soon!"
  • Interviewer: "Are you still in contact with Chelsea?"
  • Lukaku: Yes, I hear them almost every day. Especially the last weeks they are following me from up close. The ask me how it goes, how I'm feeling. And then they say that they want to see me change/improve point X and Y in the next game I play.
  • Interviewer: So they are really coaching you"
  • Lukaku: "Yes they are giving me an individual coaching. Like I have to improve my game with my back towards to goal & also I have to improve my goalscoring abilities, although at the moments this topic is going really well (laughs)
  • Interviewer: I heard you do this a lot yourself, watching video's of your games.
  • Lukaku: My week looks rather boring to say so (laughs). Mon + Tue 2 trainings, wednesday off. Thursday & friday training. Saturday the game and every sunday I return home to Belgium to see my mother.
• He says he learned a lot at Chelsea after he made his debut. Most important lesson: "If you want to be successful you have to work harder than all the others. Having talent is also important of course... but when the talent is there... it's just simply the hard work that gets you even further.

• Interviewer: Are you nervous when you have to play against Manchester City or United?
• Lukaku: Totally not. Than I want to be the first guy on the pitch! When you are younger you dream about playing against Rooney, Van Persie or Vincent (Kompany). Although not really against Vincent because I know he always wants to tackle me hard (laughs). Also at the national squad he does this too me. And I'm big... but this guys is 1m94 of pure muscles... it's still intimidating. But either way... next time I will pay him back (laughs).

Interesting topic now:

• Interviewer: Next year at Chelsea we maybe have 4 members of the national team playing (Hazard, Courtois, De Bruyne & Lukaku). And maybe there are even more to come? I've heard they want Fellaini?
• Lukaku: Yes that would be so much fun! Especially during pre-season. We already had a great time the 3 of us (KDB, Eden and himself) this year so the more the merrier!
• Interviewer: How big do you see your chances to return to Chelsea next year?
• Lukaku: I just hope I can finish this season in the best possible way. After that we will see. I also have to think about the Belgian National team & myself... so if I will be loaned out for another year... no problem at all. Of course returning to the Bridge is my only aim! But I want to be realistic. Although it bothers me that people are still saying: Romelu your only 20... you're still a child. I have almost 200 games under my belt at the highest level (Anderlecht, Chelsea & West Brom) so little by little... also the experience is growing!

• Interviewer: You also lost a lot of pounds the last two years
• Lukaku: yes. first of all we train a lot more on muscles in the UK. But next to that I also have to admit I'm not such a fan of the english kitchen (laughs). When I first arrived at the club... I saw some guys having breakfast of beans in tomato sauce putting a slice of salami on top of that... ieeuwww (laughs out loud).
• Interviewer: Romelu, the UK is the country of the Tabloids. Yet you appear to be never in them. How would you explain that?
• Lukaku: Simply because I'm always at home (laughs). Really! I get up in the morning, do a little prayer. then I call my parents to see if everything is allright. Then I go to the training. When I come back at night I stay home and watch some tele or play videogames.
• Interviewer: So you never ever go out?
• Lukaku: No, not a lot. I have been living like this since I started my professional career at age 16. At our home the word Carré (a famous club in Belgium where a lot of Anderlecht's players go out to party) sounds like it comes from the demon. I remember when we became champions with Anderlecht. I had to go to school the next day but the whole team was going to celebrate in the Carré. So I asked my father if I could also go there. He gave me a look with his eyes and I knew...'nope' (laughs loudly).
• Interviewer: But now you live on your own in the UK. So you can do whatever you want?
• Lukaku: Yes I know. But I have a high sense of duty. I also read stories about other players going out, cheating on their wives etc. But I think we are role models... little children are looking up to us. So we have to give the right example. So I really don't want to keep myself busy with girls and going out. Furthermore I have a younger brother that looks up to his big brother. So I really see it as my duty to set a right example. I want to be a good football player but also a good person. And I want people to know me a such... and not as Romelu the guy who goes to the nightclub and empties bottles of champagne by spraying them over the other guests.
• Interviewer: What do you miss the most from Belgium?
• Lukaku: (clearly) my mother!

end of the interview!

ps: I have to stop writing so much

[Jusek 2,031]

Nice job there @Atholy,! Great interview. Romelu really is a great promising player and very mature person already. Hopefully he becomes a Chelsea legend someday...

[Atholy 1,293]

Nice job there @Atholy,! Great interview. Romelu really is a great promising player and very mature person already. Hopefully he becomes a Chelsea legend someday...

All of you are very welcome!

And indeed... Romelu has been the most humble and amazingly mature person for his age (even when he was 16 at Anderlecht)!

He shows great promise and I'm very happy I don't have to right all these messages anymore to try and convince the others from the fact he's really good!

I share your hopes that he will, one day, become a true Chelsea legend!

Important remark: Anderlechts assistant manager was on national television last monday. He also talked about Romelu saying: there really was NO OTHER CLUB Lukaku wanted to go to => This boy has a chelsea heart, just like all of us!!

[Mufassir08 2,400]

Wow lukaku really is mature no wonder the west brom fans love him.With an attititude like that a player with not a lot of talent can still become a very good player due to his sheer hard work and determinetion and if you have the talent and physical gifts like lukaku has then i got no doubt in my mind that romelu will become a massive player.I just hope he fulfills his potential at stamford bridge and not somewhere else.