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| Romelu Lukaku vs Diego Costa |
After 52 goals in 83
matches, two EPL titles, one EFL Cup and plenty of memorable moments, it seems
that Diego Costa’s time at Chelsea has come to an end.
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| EPL stats |
The
enigmatic Brazilian-born Spaniard has revealed that Antonio Conte, Chelsea’s
Italian manager, sent him a text message to tell him his time with the English
champions was up. A lot has been said about how better the parting of ways
could have been handled, but at the end of the day, the inevitability of the
breakup had been there all along.
As
Costa’s legend is being consigned to the annals of the Pensioners’ history,
another man who left Stamford Bridge as a boy some time ago is ready to come
back and fulfil all the promise he showed at a young age at the London club.
That man is Romelu Lukaku.
See five reasons Chelsea fans should be excited
about the big, burly Belgian’s return!
1.
Romelu Lukaku has never been short of confidence in his own ability, he’s been
banging in goals for fun at the top level since the tender age of sixteen. He
was the top scorer in the Belgian league in his first full season as a pro with
Anderlecht as they won the title in 2009/10 and he also scored four times in
Champions League qualifying. He had already scored 41 goals in 98 games for
Anderlecht as an 18-year-old before Chelsea came calling in 2011.
2.
The Belgian has fully matured in the EPL and is ready to take the next step and
lead the Chelsea attack six years after he was brought in as a teenager. After
spending two seasons on loan to West Brom and Everton and scoring a total of 33
league goals in 66 games for both teams, Everton forked out a club record £28m
to have him permanently on their books and he duly delivered as he became the
Toffees top scorer in the Premier League era and twice broke the record for
goals scored by an Everton player in a Premier League season. Chelsea know they
will be getting a proven goal scorer in the league with his capture.
3.
Romelu Lukaku has outscored Diego Costa in the last two seasons and very
importantly converted a greater proportion of his clear-cut chances and created
opportunities for his team-mates more frequently. However, Antonio Conte is a
stickler to hard work and likes to press teams from the front, if he wants to
continue in that form with Lukaku, the Belgian will have to change his game as
stats and optics have shown that he isn’t that kind of striker. Over 60
forwards made an interception last season and Lukaku wasn’t one of them and he
also made only nine tackles last season. In fact, Romelu Lukaku has managed
just one interception and 33 tackles over the past three years in the league,
so Chelsea fans should not expect to see the big Belgian harrying opposition defenders.
4.
He also isn’t the kind of striker that will run down the channels as his
running numbers do not make for impressive reading. Among all the strikers to
have played over a thousand minutes in the league last season, his average of
8.84km distance covered per game places him bottom of the list, while his 44.77
sprints per match put him forty-second out of forty-eight forwards. What you
can expect from him is great positional play and awareness inside the box, so
once the chances are created and presented to him, he is most certain to finish
them off.
5. One of the most important things that Lukaku will be bringing to Chelsea when he joins them will not be able to be measured and that is a chip on his shoulder. The big Belgian has a burning desire to be a success at the London club and has said in the past that he wants to be a ‘legend at Chelsea’ which was one of the reasons he chose to leave and prove himself elsewhere, instead of languishing in the reserves or sitting on the bench at Stamford Bridge and that belief in himself has paid off as Chelsea are about to break the bank to get him back. Returning to the club will be a homecoming and he would surely want to have a huge party in London by painting the city with goals.
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