At the age of 23, Romelu Lukaku is reaching a crucial stage of his career, as he attempts to become one of the best strikers in Europe. He was seen as one of the best prospects when he joined Chelsea in 2011, but he couldn’t break into the first team at Stamford Bridge. Although this slowed down his progress somewhat, he has been steadily improving at Everton and he is now ready to move to a Champions League club. The Toffees would like to build their team around Lukaku, but that is unrealistic as they won’t be able to grow at the same rate as the Belgian.
Last season, Lukaku was good, but there was a feeling that he was still too raw and inconsistent to be a regular in the Champions League. He finished the campaign with 18 goals and six assists, with a goal involvement every 132.1 minutes. The Belgian international averaged 3.35 shots, 1.45 chances created and 1.28 key passes per ninety minutes. Meanwhile, his shooting accuracy was 56% and he won 39.2% of his aerial duels. Although he was one of the best strikers in the league, he didn’t do enough to earn a move to a bigger club, which will have come as a disappointment to the striker. That said, he has put his head down and his improvement this season suggests that he has the right mentality to reach the top of the game. This is something that has been questioned in the past.
The former Chelsea striker is already close to beating his goal total of last season and it is only February. He has scored 16Â goals and contributed four assists, with a goal involvement every 104.8 minutes, which is considerably better than last season. In terms of his overall contribution, he has averaged 2.71 shots, 1.42 chances created and 1.25 key passes per ninety minutes. Meanwhile, his shooting accuracy is 65% and his aerial duel win rate is 40.59%. He is having a much better season in front of goal, while his creative stats remain consistent with last season.
It is interesting to look at Lukaku’s improvement this season as he has become a lot more clinical in front of goal. He is averaging 0.69 goals per ninety minutes this season, which is an improvement on the 0.51 he averaged last season. This is made even more impressive as he is attempting fewer shots this season than last. The Belgian has become a better finisher and that comes as a result of better shot locations. He is also hitting the target more often as his shooting accuracy shows, which suggests he is a lot more confident. Another encouraging sign is that Lukaku is winning more aerial duels, even if it is only a fractional improvement. He is becoming a more consistent and clinical striker.
The Belgian has always had the attributes to become one of the best in his position. He has an intimidating physique, a good turn of pace and is decent on the ball, making him the complete striker in many respects. Lukaku has reached a point in his career where he needs to get a move to a bigger club or risk stunting his own development. He is already one of the most consistent goal-scorers in the Premier League and there is little more he can achieve with Everton. The one problem for him will be finding a Champions League club that will be prepared to make him their first choice striker. That said, this summer is the right time for him to move away from Goodison Park and test himself at the top of the European game.
