Lukaku “New Drogba”, Hit Or Miss?
Romelu Lukaku has emerged as one of the world’s most sought after young players, he’s been linked with Europe’s elite, from Arsenal, Chelsea, Manchester United, Manchester City, Liverpool, Tottenham Hotspur, Real Madrid and Inter Milan, everyone seems to
want him. This comes as no surprise though, the young starlet has already proved his abilities in Europe, scoring 18 goals from just 48 games.
Lukaku, at the young age of 17, has already made starts for Belgium at the international stage and in the 2009-2010 season he was named the top scorer in the Belgian Pro League. When he was 16 years old, he found the back of the net 15 times in 25 appearances,
with his already impressive goal tally; this youngster seems to be destined for great things.
Already he is being compared to the great Chelsea hit man, Didier Drogba. In fact he is being referred to as the “new Drogba”, which is because of the two players’ similarity. Both have proven to be fantastic at what they do, scoring goals. Some would say
that this new Drogba has already surpassed the Ivoirian, in 88 games; Lukaku has scored some 121 goals, an admirable feat by anyone’s standards.
Lukaku is also a physical player like Drogba, and his Drogba-esque physique gives him that extra advantage over his opponents. Only 17 years old and Lukaku is 6ft and 3 inches, and is still growing. One can only imagine what this player will have to offer
once he has reaches his full potential. He has a good right foot and a left foot, is good in the air and has a nifty touch.
However, the question arises, can a 17 year old playing Belgium be compared to the likes of Drogba, who plays in the English Premier League and features in European competitions regularly. There have been plenty of youngsters advertised as the next ‘insert
name of famous football legend here’, but not many have quite made it to the big stage.
But Lukaku seems different from all the other hyped about players; he has some experience in Europe. The youngster has featured in the Europa League, coming up against opposition such as Hamburger SV, AEK Athens, even scoring twice against Dutch champions
Ajax. Then again, the Europa League is not the Champions League and the above mentioned clubs are not Real Madrid or Chelsea.
With his current demand in the market though, it may only be a short while before Lukaku is playing for one of the big clubs in the Champions League. What he needs though, is guidance. Many young players go down the slippery slope of nothingness because
they do not have a mentor to guide them; Lukaku would do well to find himself someone well experienced in this department.
His options are plenty at this stage, the best ones though are Jose Mourinho at Real Madrid, Sir Alex Ferguson at Manchester United, Carlo Ancelotti at Chelsea and Arsene Wenger at Arsenal. All are top clubs and these managers know how to handle young stars,
they have nurtured and developed many young stars who are now at the top of their game.
The wonder kid has been linked with Chelsea and was even spotted wearing a Chelsea kit, but a source revealed that Ancelotti’s side has so far failed to reach an agreement with his club Anderlecht. That has given rise to speculation as to where Lukaku will
end up, with Arsenal and Tottenham also showing strong interest.
In fact, Tottenham have already had a bid rejected last year, but they show no signs of giving up. The current situation gives some insight as to what next summer’s transfer window battle will be like, a tug of war between London’s top three clubs over a
17 year old Belgian player.
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