A target for many clubs, the ‘Romelu Lukaku saga’ continues as the Belgian has yet to make his mind up on where to go to next. Juventus, Wolfsburg, Atletico Madrid and many clubs have shown interest in the Belgian, but Everton are the closest to signing him from Chelsea. It’s no secret that Roberto Martinez wants him in the Everton team, but would he put in the performances as he did on loan at Everton? Would he reach his full potential at Everton? Should Martinez focus on bringing other strikers in rather than waiting till late August?
Who is Romelu Lukaku?Â
At the age of just 21, Romelu Lukaku is one of the most talked about strikers not just in the Premier League, but in Europe! He has already made 32 appearances for Belgium (since 2010) and has enjoyed loan spells at West Brom and Everton, scoring 32 goals between both sides. Despite a fantastic record, Chelsea are looking to offload Lukaku for around £20m mark, should Everton approach?
What does he provide?
Romelu Lukaku is a strong figure upfront, and it’s difficult to take the ball of him especially when he is in attack. He is a danger inside the box, but outside of the area is where his shooting is weak, he isn’t the best of distance shooters. He also has great attacking flair, has pace, has strength, a ‘all-round’ striker.
Shooting
The one trait any striker needs is a good shot. Romelu Lukaku scored 15 for Everton last season, he is one of the best at shooting (especially in the penalty area).
Lukaku is a great shooter, having 73 shots at goal during the 2013/14 Premier League season including more shots at goal than the likes of Sergio Aguero and Robin van Persie (although both players had injury problems during the season)
His ‘minutes per goal’ stats where also very good, scoring one goal every 173.45 minutes, which is one goal every two matches. A lower amount than Alvaro Negredo and Olivier Giroud who both had good seasons at their clubs
Here is Romelu Lukaku’s shot map, 45 shots have been on target whilst 27 shots have been off target in 31 appearances. He is a danger.
Goals
Here is Romelu Lukaku’s goal map from last season for Everton. All his goals came inside the area, all 15. It proves the Lukaku is deadly inside the box and can be dangerous if he is in the right mood. If you can close him down and force him outside the penalty area, Lukaku would struggle to score at all.
He is also more of a danger with his left foot rather than his right or his head, scoring 7 goals with his left foot, 5 with his right foot and 3 with his head. Don’t move Romelu onto his left foot or you will be punished.
Conclusion
Worth £20million? For me, yes. The fact that Lukaku is still 21 is amazing. The ‘New Didier Drogba’ nickname is very much true, both of the players are strong, have pace and more importantly can score goals. It would be a tough deal for Everton, considering Juventus, Wolfsburg and many other clubs are all interested in the Belgian.
Goal charts and graph images via Squawka.com