Interim manager Guus Hiddink managed to revive Chelsea’s season, after a really poor start under Jose Mourinho. However, the Dutchman did not extend his stay at Stamford Bridge and will now be replaced by Antonio Conte, who will look to take the Blues back to the top level. Though the club will not be playing in the Champions League, a top four finish could be the first target for the Italian and anything better could be a bonus. Keeping that in mind, the former Juve boss will look to strengthen his squad, as soon as possible.
One quality striker who is available in the current transfer window and has now stated that he wants to leave his current club is Everton’s Romelu Lukaku. The 23 year old Belgian international was previous with the west London outfit from 2011-2014, though just made 10 appearances for them without scoring a single goal and was eventually sent away on loan to other rivals clubs.
Due to his recent success at Goodison Park, he has attracted the attention of various top clubs and could not be a potential target for Conte. Though, Lukaku is a good, strong attacker with pace and great finishing ability, he is now ready for a new challenge, due to which he wishes to leave the Toffees and move on with his career at a bigger club.
In a recent interview he was quoted as saying, “I’m at a point where I have to make a good career choice.”
“We have a new investor at Everton and out of courtesy I will listen to what he has to say. But I have my own ideas in mind. I want to win titles.”
“I have had a very good season, but it is time for me to write myself a CV. That is why I play football. I got that trophy-winning mindset from Chelsea.”
“People in Belgium don’t see me playing for Everton, but I am respected by fans, managers and experts like Jamie Carragher, Graeme Souness and Thierry Henry.”
Anyways despite that, the problem with Lukaku is that he is not consistent. He may put in a solid performance in one game, but might fade away and be a mere spectator in another. He is not a creative player, he is a finisher. At times the linkup play that he has with his team-mates, remains to be desired. The star striker is a more direct player, who prefers long balls over the top than short passes, which sometimes disrupts the smooth flowing football.
Moreover, he is not a kind of player who often falls back to help his defence out, something which will be quite important to Conte as he is first looking to fortify the back-line. He is more of a stagnant player generally and likes to stick to his position. Further, his father also believes that he could be moving to Bayern Munich or Manchester United instead, which would be a better decision.
Lukaku has scored a tally of 25 goals in the recently concluded campaign for his side. He further has a tally of 43 goals in 104 games for the Merseyside club since joining them in 2013, initially on loan and later make the move permanent.