Romelu Lukaku’s loan exit to Everton was something of a surprise on deadline day and didn’t best please many Chelsea fans but the forward has revealed why he had to make the switch.
During the summer the Belgian said that he would be staying at Stamford Bridge this season and had been given assurances from the manager that he’d be given the chance to fight for his place, but insists that he has no problem with Mourinho, who called him Monday evening to tell Lukaku that he’d be going out on loan again.
The 20-year-old said:
“I was sitting in my hotel room in Brussels when the phone went to tell me I was going out on loan again,’ he said, ahead of Belgium’s World Cup qualifier with Scotland. ‘It was 7 pm, and that was the first I knew of it. There had not been a mention of it before then, but after speaking to my parents, I decided to take the plunge.
“I talked to the manager as well, and while what he said was confidential, it just underlined that he is the best coach I have worked with. Some beat about the bush, but he comes out straight and tells you what he thinks. As a player, that is what you want.”
Lukaku added that it is important to be playing regular football during this stage of his career and spoke about a few areas of his game that he could improve:
“The important thing, at 20, is to be playing, and while West Brom was an option, Everton was a better one. There are a few things I need to improve in my game, and Everton’s footballing approach and possession play can be perfect for me.
“My movement and runs to the far post and near post could be better, and I have already had a good, long conversation with the manager Roberto Martinez about that. I’ve also known Kevin Mirallas since I was 14, and that should help. We talked about it (the loan move) all last night.”
He’ll have to wait to make his debut for the Toffees as there’s an international break this weekend and he won’t be allowed to play in Everton’s next Premier League fixture on the 14th as it’s against his parent club. It’s a big signing for Everton and you’d expect Lukaku to play a lot of football at Goodison, so it’s a good opportunity for him and hopefully he enjoys a similar or improved goal tally as he had last season with West Brom.
Personally I’m a little bit disappointed that he hasn’t been given the chance to make a name for himself at Chelsea and would prefer that we made our own players into finished articles rather than sending them elsewhere, but there was never a chance Mourinho would have had four forwards in his squad and at least one of the three will spend most of his time on the bench or in the stands. We couldn’t move Demba Ba on because Arsenal seemed the most keen and perhaps we were reluctant to strengthen them further after they signed Mesut Ozil.
Source: Daily Mail
