Return to Chelsea would be Lukaku’s dream come true
Everton striker faces the former club where he has always set his heart on being a success
Romelu Lukaku was one of the Sint-GuidoInstituut students whom a Belgian film crew followed for a school year as part of an award-winning fly-on-the-wall documentary broadcast seven years ago.
One of the most striking scenes from the series was of a 16-year-old Lukaku standing in an empty Stamford Bridge, saying: “If one day in my life I will cry, it will be the day I play here. I love Chelsea.”
The pupils were on a field trip to London and had taken a stop at Lukaku’s beloved Chelsea. When his teacher tried to snap him out of his dream-like state to keep up with the rest of the class, the youngster replied: “This is not dreaming. I will do it. One day, I will play here.”
Lukaku, of course, went on to play at Stamford Bridge, but his dream has still not been entirely fulfilled. He never scored for Chelsea, never heard the crowd chant his name. For that reason, the 23-year-old has set his heart on returning to the club this summer.
It is also why he risked damaging his relationship with the Everton fans by refusing to sign a new contract last month. And it is why, if necessary, Lukaku is expected to fight to get his way.
Lukaku’s desire to become a Stamford Bridge hero will not stop him trying to put a temporary dent in Chelsea’s Premier League title ambitions tomorrow. His two superb goals knocked his former club out of the FA Cup last season, and Chelsea will not be expecting any favours as they attempt to extend their lead over Tottenham Hotspur. But once the final whistle has sounded at Goodison Park, Lukaku will return to being a fan of Chelsea, the team he began supporting as a 10-year-old boy after watching Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink score against Manchester United. Later, his hero became Didier Drogba, who describes Lukaku as his “little brother”.
Chelsea’s willingness to spend more than £70million on a player they sold for £28million only three years ago requires more lateral thinking. Buying back an asset at a vastly increased price never looks good business. But, placed within the context of the crazy money of the Premier League and what Chelsea could have achieved by the end of this season, the potential deal looks far from daylight robbery.
Since selling Lukaku on a permanent deal, Chelsea have won the Premier League and League Cup. By the end of this season, they could have added a second title and the FA Cup, while the Belgian has developed into one of the most potent strikers in the division. Lukaku is on course to finish the season as the Premier League’s top scorer, ahead of Harry Kane, Alexis Sánchez and Diego Costa.
Costa was signed by former Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho in the same summer Lukaku departed, with the former Anderlecht prodigy correctly believing that he would struggle for opportunities behind the Spain international. But Lukaku is now ready to step up and Chelsea will regard it as money well spent for a forward who is established in the Premier League, knows the club and whose peak years lie ahead of him. Chelsea are perhaps the best example of a club who have no problem bringing back former employees and all of the recent returns have brought success. Mourinho won the title and the League Cup in his second spell with the club before last season’s meltdown. Nemanja Matic, sold to Benfica for £4.25 million and re-signed for £25 million, powered Chelsea to their 2015 league success and has played a big part again this year. David Luiz is on course to complete one of the most unlikely fairy-tale returns. There are still those at Chelsea who had worked so hard to sign Lukaku as an 18-year-old, and who remain convinced that he can be a huge success at the club. Careful planning and cajoling went into his successful loans to West Bromwich Albion and Everton. Chelsea now face a summer fight with Everton over Lukaku, after the relationship between the clubs deteriorated over the John Stones saga two years ago. Stones eventually joined Manchester City, but, for Lukaku, as his old Sint-Guido-Instituut classmates will testify, there has only ever been one true love.