Date: 10th June 2013 at 10:44am
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Romelu-LukakuIt appears as though Romelu Lukaku is a part of Jose Mourinho’s plans next season as the Belgian confirmed that he would ‘play for Chelsea’ next season following talks with his new boss.

The 20-year-old is still very raw and has a lot to learn but was hugely impressive on loan at West Brom last season as he scored 17 league goals which helped the Baggies into eighth place. He also has a sense of maturity and a willingness to learn which is also admirable.

Everyone knows that the best thing for Lukaku is regular football and this season has been testament to that, so many were unsure if he would get enough playing time at Stamford Bridge or if he’d be loaned back out for the sake of his development. Mourinho wants him in the squad and I’m assuming that the issue of the opportunities that will be afforded to the youngster came up.

Lukaku ended the speculation over his future:

“I’ll play for Chelsea next season. I had a chat with Jose and he’ll put me in his squad.”

Being the big and dominant centre-forward he is it has been difficult for Lukaku to avoid comparisons with club legend Didier Drogba, but Lukaku hopes to make a name in his own right and try to be even better than the Ivorian was.

“People compared me to Drogba.

“He’s my idol, we’ve a similar style. But I hope to do even better than him and win more trophies.”

(ESPN)

Recently we heard Eden Hazard say that he dreams of emulating the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, now we have Lukaku telling us how he’ll attempt to exceed Drogba. It’s really refreshing to hear young players having the confidence to compare themselves to the aforementioned. This sort of mentality will no doubt impress Mourinho, who wants his players to know and believe that they’re the best.

I’m delighted for Lukaku. It’s great to see that his hard work out on loan is paying off and recognised by one of the best managers in the modern era of football. I just hope that he will get the sort of playing time that he deserves as being too much of a bit-part would stunt his development.

The news may have the likes of Fernando Torres and Demba Ba looking over their shoulders. Should we sign a Mario Gomez or Edinson Cavani and had Lukaku as backup, there won’t really be a need for either as Andre Schurrle is also expected to sign and although he isn’t an adequate centre-forward, if you’re down to your third choice you aren’t expecting miracles and can’t have Ba as a third as he’d expect to play which will take time off Lukaku.

Source: ESPN

 

One response to “Lukaku gets the shot he deserves”

  1. Reddiebaggie says:

    Lukaku will be an asset to Chelsea, he still has room for improvement his first touch is not the best and he should be better in the air considering his height, but he is such a powerful player. In the last match against Man Utd he scared their defenders to death and we were disappointed that we didn’t win in the end. We thank Chelsea for allowing us to have this prodigious talent for last season in the modern era we could not afford a player like him.