Romelu Lukaku has revealed that he was the subject of a bid from an unnamed English club this summer, but chose to stay at Everton.
Lukaku, who joined Chelsea in 2011 for a £10 million fee that had a clause that made it rise to £17 million based on add-ons, found playing time hard to come by and left Chelsea permanently after going out on loan to West Brom and then Everton. It was the latter that stumped up a club record fee to sign the Belgian international, landing the highly-rated striker for £28 million.
Lukaku has not looked back since and has become one of the English Premier League’s finest strikers, with 52 goals in 108 appearances for Everton since joining them permanently.
His performances for Everton have attracted the interest of a number of top clubs in Europe, and Lukaku was linked with moves to Bayern Munich, Manchester United and most notably the club that sold him in the first place – Chelsea. Rumours circulated throughout the summer that Chelsea and Manchester United were the closest to signing the Belgian, with one report even stating Chelsea had a bid rejected outright by Everton.
Lukaku has now confirmed that he was indeed the subject of interest from other Premier League clubs, but chose to stay at Everton after being convinced by Ronald Koeman and his staff.
According to ESPN – who quote a report from Sport/Voetbalmagazine – Lukaku had this to say about the summer interest in him:
“I’m not going to lie. There was a specific club in England who was really keen to buy me,” Lukaku said.
“But Everton’s new staff made me understand they didn’t want me to leave. What can you do when that happens?”
He also added that he wanted to win the Premier League title the most, but would not say no to future offers from other countries, as long as he knew the coach had a system that he would work in:
“That’s (the BPL Trophy) the trophy I want, that’s what I work for, to win that title,” he continued.
“I would not say no to Serie A, La Liga, Ligue 1 or the Bundesliga, but before such a move several conditions need to be met. First I need a coach to work with who believes in me as there is no point in signing for someone and then realise on the spot that the system is not designed for me.”
It is unclear from his comments whether it was Chelsea or Manchester United bid for him, but if the reports are anything to go by Chelsea’s interest was the strongest in the summer.
However, Manchester United are definitely the club that need him more. The Reds have been struggling this season, with Zlatan Ibrahimovic – who started with a bang that fizzled out all to quickly – struggling for goals. The Swede cannot be blamed for United’s fortunes, however, as at the age of 35 he was signed to bring experience and that all-too-precious winning mentality to the side. There is no question that a striker of Lukaku’s qualities would have added another dimension to United though.
A lot of United’s moves break down because Ibrahimovic no longer has the explosive pace that he used to. He tends to hold up play more than run into space, and looks to link up with other players as opposed to take on defenders on his own and drive forward.
Lukaku, on the other hand, is all about pace and power. Standing at 6″3, and with a powerful build to boot, Lukaku is a nuisance for any defender in the world. The Belgian’s power means that he is very difficult to bully off the ball, and once he uses his pace to get in front of you there is not too much any defender can do about it. He is also an adept finisher, and the stats show it. In 13 appearances for Everton this season – one of which came as a substitute – Lukaku has scored 7 goals with an average of 2.5 shots per game. He also looks to create goals when he can, and a statistic of 1.7 key passes per game is a good return considering Everton’s struggles this season. To round it off, he completes 1.9 successful dribbles per game, which shows that he is quickly – and ridiculously quickly – turning into one of the most complete strikers in the league. All of this at the age of just 23.
Manchester United could have used a player exactly like Lukaku. Not the finished product, but getting close and perhaps turning into it at a club of their stature. He is hungry for the title, eager to prove himself on the biggest stage, and now has enough experience in the league to hit the ground running.
If United were indeed the side that bid for Lukaku this season, perhaps they would should have done more to convince Everton and the player that it was the right move for all parties. Lukaku could have been the gunpowder that Mourinho’s sputtering cannon needed, and their season could have been very different had they made a move for the striker.
It is never too late, though. Lukaku could – and probably will – move next season. Should United sign him, they will finally have another striker who can play up front for them for the next decade. And it won’t be the first time Everton have been the providers.
