Everton’s Romelu Lukaku vs Torino’s Andrea Belotti – A Statistical Comparison

Romelu Lukaku vs Andrea Belotti – A Statistical Comparison

Chelsea and Manchester United are set to be two of the busiest clubs in the transfer market this summer and both clubs are likely to fight for a couple of players, with requirements for both teams quite similar for next season. Both of them need a star striker who can lead the attack for their side.

While Chelsea are ready to get rid of Diego Costa, and Manchester United needing to replace Zlatan Ibrahimovic this summer, two names that are constantly popping up at both clubs are Torino’s Andrea Belotti and Everton’s Romelu Lukaku. Putting Lukaku’s English experience aside, who is a better option for the English giants? Here is a statistical comparison of the two.

With 26 goals and 7 assists in the Serie A last season, Belotti was in impeccable form, But he is closely matched by Lukaku, who scored 25 goals and 6 assists last season. With a shot accuracy of 64% compared to just the 49% for Belotti, Lukaku was eccentric in front of goal. But Belotti betters him in many areas.

With a pass completion of 75%, the Italian youngster created 55 chances all season with 48 key passes to his name. Lukaku was accurate with just 66% of his total passes and created just 46 chances, picking up just 40 key passes all season.

The Belgian was effective in one-on-one situations, as he had a successful take-on rate of 66.67% while Belotti is reeling at around 44%. But the Torino man is hardly an exciting dribbler and his strength lies in dominating the box, which is clear from these numbers.

Belotti won 41.94% of his aerial duels compared to 41.16% by Lukaku. He also has won more duels per game than Lukaku, making him more effective in the final third. The fact that Belotti scored 10 goals from set-pieces, with just 2 of them from the spot, makes him a perfect fit for an English club, especially when compared to just 4 goals from set-pieces Lukaku managed to score last campaign.

Lukaku hardly helped Everton in pressing opponents into submission and did not register a single interception all season. It might talk about his discipline, but it looks lethargic when compared to the efforts of Belotti. The Italian has 11 interceptions to his name compared to none by Lukaku and also suffered 126 fouls, showing his ability to hold the ball up.

Lukaku won just 33 fouls in England and these numbers only show that Belotti is an upgrade on the Belgian. Both players will cost around the same amount of money.

So who do you think is a better option for the English giants?