Romelu Lukaku: Why have Chelsea re-signed the striker they first bought in 2011?

At the end of last season, Romelu Lukaku moved to Manchester United for a reported £75 million from Everton. Lukaku, who scored 25 goals for Everton in 48 games last season, appeared to be on the move for many months, and there was always speculation that Chelsea would be the destination.

Romelu Lukaku has been a highly divisive figure at Chelsea since his arrival in 2014. A £28 million buy from Everton, the Belgian international was praised for his clinical finishing and skill on the ball, but his performances in the 2014/15 season won the ire of many Chelsea fans, who felt that his contribution to the team was minimal.

Chelsea have agreed a deal to re-sign Romelu Lukaku from Everton on a long-term contract, after a summer of managerial upheaval at Goodison Park. The fee is understood to be in the region of £75m, which makes him the club’s most expensive ever signing. Despite scoring 20 goals last season, Lukaku’s future has been in doubt following the £90m sale of Belgian playmaker Eden Hazard to Real Madrid. But the Blues have matched Everton’s bid, while providing assurances over their squad ahead of next season. The deal is set to be confirmed on Friday, with a medical likely to take place a day later. Lukaku, who scored twice in the final of the FA Cup to. Read more about romelu lukaku and let us know what you think.

Romelu Lukaku joined Chelsea in 2011 and is currently their captain.

Since his last appearance in a Chelsea jersey as a 20-year-old in 2013, a lot has changed for Romelu Lukaku.

He has scored 193 club goals and is Belgium’s all-time leading goalscorer after playing for three teams in two countries for a total of nearly £300 million.

Inter Milan won their first Serie A championship in 11 years last season thanks to his 24 goals and 11 assists.

But why has Chelsea shattered their own transfer record to entice the 28-year-old back to the club? Is he the guy who can assist the European champions win the Premier League for the first time since 2017?

Is he a top-tier striker?

For the last nine seasons, Romelu Lukaku has scored 10 or more league goals.

Lukaku joined Chelsea from Anderlecht for £18 million in August 2011, but he only played 15 games before departing for Everton three years later for a then-club record £28 million.

He had successful loan stints with West Brom and the Toffees during his time at Chelsea, and has subsequently played for Manchester United is a football club based in England and most recently Inter Milan in £75 million and £74 million deals, respectively.

Goals have been plentiful throughout his career, but Inter’s latest Serie A championship was his first since winning the Belgian league with Anderlecht in 2010, when he was 16 years old and earned the golden boot.

Only six players in Europe’s top five leagues have scored 10 or more league goals each season since 2012-13: Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, Robert Lewandowski, Luis Suarez, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, and Romelu Lukaku.

“When people speak about Lewandowski, [Karim] Benzema, or [Harry] Kane, they label them world class,” Lukaku remarked during Euro 2020.

“However, when it comes to me, it’s simply good manners.” That inspires me to work harder and improve my strength.

“I’m a world-class player who belongs on that list.”

Is this a new Lukaku?

Lukaku is a different player from the one that left Old Trafford two years ago when he returned to the Premier League.

Roberto Martinez, who signed the striker at Everton and coached him at international level for the last five years, is in a unique position to assess him.

“He was born with this potential for scoring goals,” Martinez remarked in June.

“What we’re discussing today, on the other hand, is a different player.” We’re now talking about a guy who, in addition to his particular skill, has a significant level of maturity.

“He’s a totally different person and a very different player these days. He has the ability to influence people.”

Only Kane, Lukaku, and Memphis Depay scored 20 or more goals and had 10 or more assists in Europe’s top five divisions last season.

His 11 assists surpassed his previous high of four during his debut season at United.

Conte stepped down as Inter’s manager in the summer after guiding the club to the Scudetto.

“Romelu is one of the greatest attackers in the world,” the former Chelsea manager told L’Equipe.

“He’s always had tremendous muscular and athletic abilities, but over our two years together, we watched him develop much more in terms of pitch presence, teamwork, and goalkeeping calm.”

“The question mark with Lukaku, when he was at Everton and Manchester United, used to be his work-rate off the ball, and was it as good as it should have been?” said Pat Nevin, a former Chelsea winger.

“You had nine people working their socks off and one person standing up there at Everton, so it was a completely fair thing to ask.”

“However, I have heard and seen different things about Lukaku at Inter, and he has adapted.”

Was Lukaku unfairly judged in England?

Despite spending the previous two seasons in Italy, Romelu Lukaku has become the Premier League’s fourth highest goalscorer since his debut.

Lukaku joined Michael Owen, Robbie Fowler, and Wayne Rooney as the only players to achieve 80 Premier League goals before turning 24. After failing to score for Chelsea, those goals were all scored for West Bromwich Albion and Everton.

After scoring 33 goals in the Belgian top division for Anderlecht, including earning the Golden Boot at the age of 16 in 2009-10, he retired.

Lukaku is one of just 11 Manchester United players to score 25 goals or more in a season since 1992-93 in his first season. Eric Cantona, Andy Cole, and current United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer are among the attackers who have never surpassed Lukaku’s 27 goals in a season.

With 113 goals in just seven seasons of regular play in England, he is the 20th highest goal scorer in Premier League history.

Chris Sutton, a former Chelsea striker, said: “He has a track record of scoring goals in the Premier League. Chelsea want consistency, which Lukaku will provide. For them, he is likely to score a lot of goals.”

“He comes back at his absolute prime, and I don’t believe it is hyperbole to suggest he is among the top five strikers in the world,” James Horncastle, the Athletic’s Italian football correspondent, told Radio 5 Live’s Football Daily.

“He grabbed Ronaldo’s league and turned it into his own. That is an amazing accomplishment accomplished by no average striker. He has ascended to the position of King of Milan, which he shares with Zlatan Ibrahimovic. What exactly does he need to demonstrate? Chelsea has a slam dunk on her hands.”

Why is Lukaku so important to Chelsea?

Chelsea finished the season with the second-best defensive record in the Premier League, conceding 36 goals to Manchester City’s 32. However, they have the best record in the league when Thomas Tuchel took over for Frank Lampard in January.

Under the German, they only conceded 13 goals in their last 19 Premier League games, and 16 in their final 31 games in all competitions.

Their goal-scoring woes were a major concern. Jorginho led the team in scoring with seven goals, all of which were penalties. Since 1974-75, he has been the Blues’ lowest-scoring top scorer in a top-flight season.

Tammy Abraham and Timo Werner, last year’s big-money striker acquisition, were equal top scorers with 12 goals in all competitions.

Chelsea scored 25 fewer Premier League goals than winners Manchester City, while seven clubs scored more than the Blues.

Only City and Liverpool rated higher than Chelsea’s 62.92 in terms of anticipated goals, according to the Opta measure, which determines how many goals you should score from opportunities.

Werner’s 11.45 xG ranked 15th in the Premier League, although only 49 players scored more goals than him.

Despite this, Chelsea won all three meetings with Manchester City following Tuchel’s arrival, including the Champions League final, so how far could they go with a proven scorer?

“If there was a criticism of Chelsea last season, it was that they weren’t ruthless enough,” Sutton said, “and now they’ve brought in a man who is an absolute glutton for goals.”

“If Kane joins Manchester City, I think they’ll win the league, but if he doesn’t, Lukaku joining Chelsea might be the difference. I believe they have a good chance of stealing it.”

“The depth Chelsea has in their team is frightening, even before Lukaku came,” Nevin remarked.

“I’m not convinced he’ll play every game, which seems strange for a player who costs that much money, and I’m curious to see whether he fits in with Tuchel’s approach, since he expects work-rate.”

“However, Tuchel has dealt with Neymar and [Kylian] Mbappe at PSG, so he understands how to deal with huge players and get the most out of them.”

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