Lukaku still has some weaknesses for ‘£100m’ striker
ing most concern among the fans at Stamford Bridge at the moment.
In the short term, the prospect of seeing the club’s porous defence facing the League’s top scorer at Goodison Park, where he has scored in nine straight games, is a daunting one.
But the fact Chelsea are considering spending a vast amount of the transfer budget on a forward they sold to Everton for just £28m in 2014, has sparked debate. Clearly, the 23-year-old has a lot of talent and was significantly named in the PFA Premier League Team of the Year on Sunday.
And yet a record of just nine goals in 42 top-flight matches against Manchester United, Manchester City, Arsenal, Tottenham, Liverpool and Chelsea (who he has never scored in the League against), over the past three campaigns leaves a question mark over how good he really is.
Former Chelsea striker Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink knows what it takes to succeed with the Blues. He scored 88 goals in four years having joined from Atletico Madrid for £15m in 2000.
Hasselbaink is an admirer of Lukaku, telling Chelsea TV: “He has improved immensely and will do so even more.
“I don’t know if he is somebody Chelsea should buy. But I do like that he is scoring a lot of goals and is powerful.
“He should work on his link-up play and can improve off the ball, too. Plus, he should look to be a bit smarter, get more free-kicks.
“But he uses his physical frame more now, is getting goals and was rightfully in the PFA Team of the Year.”
Hasselbaink’s former strike partner at Chelsea, Eidur Gudjohnsen, believes a switch to Stamford Bridge could work out well for both parties.
He added: “Coming to a club like Chelsea, playing with better players around him, should improve Lukaku.
“I agree that he needs to link up better. His first touch can be a lot softer at times. But he has the physical ability to scare any defender, he has goals in him with both feet and with his head.
“He is not complete but the exciting thing is what he does already and there is still room for improvement.”
But not all Chelsea fans will be convinced that Lukaku should return to the Bridge. Other frontmen on the club’s wish-list, like Real Madrid’s Alvaro Morata and Arsenal’s Alexis Sanchez, will cost less. And even though Chelsea have been losing patience with Diego Costa, the prospect of him staying can’t be ruled out yet.
Tim Rolls, writer for the CFCUK Fanzine, said: “Lukaku doesn’t have the mystique that a player from abroad would have. For example, Morata can do it at the top level. I know Lukaku is scoring goals but I am not sure what he will do against the very top teams. £100m is an insane amount of money for a player who hasn’t proved himself in the Champions League.”
Chelsea will hope he doesn’t prove his worth against them on Sunday.
‘He needs to link up better. His first touch can be a lot softer at times’
Eidur Gudjohnsen
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