I basically agree with your assessment but my point was that it is almost impossible to be on that list without being very effective.
Romelu Lukaku | United confirm deal subject to medical and personal terms
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I basically agree with your assessment but my point was that it is almost impossible to be on that list without being very effective.
Steve Bartram followed him on Twitter. 
Well if we are being honest, signing Lukaku is one thing, but it doesn't address our problems from last season at all.
We struggle to break teams down and create room in behind. We were so very easy to play against last season it was unreal. Teams could sit deep, put bodies behind the ball and go for a cigarette and a bacon sandwich before eventually counter attacking with pace and nicking a goal and going home with a 1-1 draw.
In order to make the best use of Lukaku we need to add some creativity and flair and start moving the ball with pace. As it stands we will continue to struggle to break teams down and draw out defenders to create chances. I think this will be a great signing, but it will mean nothing unless we add some creativity. I don't know if perisic is the answer to that in all honesty, but i will say that the kind of players we are targetting (a striker, a centre half and a winger/attacking midfielder) are perfect for what we need.
I don't know what shape we will line up with though. My guess would be a 4-3-3. One holding midfielder, two attacking full backs and work rate down both flanks whilst moving the ball at pace would be lovely. Alternatively a 4-2-3-1 and the same style as last season probably won't work at all.
Ah right. No doubt he has been effective but I'm just concerned about how well it will translate to a bigger side.
From Reddit. Paul Joyce(reliable Everton journo) says Lukaku to cost £100m (£90m + £10m(Rooney's valuation)
I'd be very happy to see him hear, but are we claiming £75m is a bargain now?
I'd be happier to hear him see, or hear him smell.
He might help us win the league, while Rashford and Martial's game might better translate to Europe. All I can say is clumsy or not, I always dreaded facing him when he was on Everton. I feel the same way about Fellaini... not the most elegant player, but very useful against certain sides.
Saying Lukaku only plays within the box is a complete lie. He drifts quite a lot and is better at carrying the ball than Morata is.
Didnt Koeman deploy him as a psuedo inside right forward this year?
Didnt Koeman deploy him as a psuedo inside right forward this year?
Goals are the whole point of football and he scores them. There isn't a lot more to say so many are obsessed with complicating the issue it's a simple game.
I wish we could show publicly the real amount of money we pay for players. It shouldnt bother me but after all these years ,getting sick and tired a bit. Someone else pays 50 mil euros,they exchange that in pounds,we pay 50 mil euros,they write its 50 mil pounds. I wouldnt be surprised that tomorrow we see claims about us paying 120 mil pounds for Lukaku.
I think it also proves that lukaku was the first choice striker on the list and not morata since these perisic links have been here for a while.
With a new winger we'll have just 7 players for the 4 attacking positions. We started last season with 8 and ended with 7. Why are you assuming Martial or Rashford are going to leave, when both are valuable players and can play at least 2 of those attacking positions? It someone of the current players should leave, but they won't, it would be Mata or Lingard.
I feel like our relationship with Everton is pretty decent, probably a big reason this deal has gone through.
I don't believe he'll miss as many chances. His pace will be an asset along with his power.
Who?Steve Bartram followed him on Twitter.
Was happy as feck we've signed Lukaku! Came on here to have a gander and it appears we've signed a scabby arsed donkey who couldn't hit the side of a house with a cabbage, and will cause the club to implode spectacularly bringing with it the demise of western society, and possibly end the world, forever.
I'm actually at a loss at how you can come to this conclusion.
Lukaku drifts around a lot. Look at this video
look at how many of his goals come from through balls, how many times he finds himself wide with the ball, how many times he drops deep and drives with the ball.
Everton didn't even play with width for a large part of the season when Balousi (sp) got injured. Even less when Coleman broke his leg.
I'm at a genuine loss at how you've pegged him here.
The telegraph said in April that Everton's relationship with Chelsea is poor because of the John Stones saga
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/football...s-rejoin-chelsea-move-will-infuriate-everton/
Yeah, probably the only other club that I don't hate in the league. Our clubs frequently do business (Schneiderlin, Fellaini etc.) so there must be a good relationship.
I contemplated making a reply like this. But I basically disagreed with everything and thought it a bizarre post so decided to just leave it be. Poster is completely wrong
You can see in this video how little control he has when he is trying to move with the ball, it's like he's fighting to keep it within touching distance.
Seems to love hugging that right channel, as Martial loves the left. If they work on their movement a bit there could be a decent partnership there.
Interesting segment of an interview with Lukaku here.
He's very self-aware. Seems really confident at the same time too, this is the type of guy we need.
I really disagree with this assessment.
Firstly, the width of the box is not a small space, theres a lot of room to exploit for multiple players. When playing for everton, Lukaku runs the width of the box and the channels and attracts defenders to create plenty of space for the likes of Mirallas and Barkley to exploit.
Secondly, Lukaku in fact prefers to isolate his defenders away from the penalty box (mostly around the right wing position) such that he himself or his team mates have room to run into (especially when playing on the counter). Anyone who has watched Everton games often enough would have seen this. His hold up play and distribution would have to improve a bit such that he can use positions he takes in the channels to involve the likes of Rashford and Martial, but theres no reason to believe with such certainty that his natural game or the positions he takes would inhibit our current forwards.
I took a look at his heatmaps against city, united burnley, spurs and all these games confirm the assertions ive made above.
The problem with Martial cant be taken in a black and white sense. Its not because one thing. Yes, the mobility of zlatan, and his lack of movement from the central areas does have an impact on the space other players have but so does the fact that most teams put 8 defenders between us and the goal. The very aim of van gaals system was to isolate martial against a full back or CB. But in our current system hes not the focal point of our attack anymore and the congestion caused by the lack of movement and defensive minded opposition leads to Martial having to contend with multiple defenders.
Lukaku will help solve this problem in my opinion. I dont think that Lukakus movement or penchant for staying in the box is going to harm Rashford or Martial. On the contrary i think his mobility, ability to run the channels and his affinity for the right flank actually would suit our right footed strikers during the build up or in counter attacking situations. Moreover, against defensive teams his tendancy to be in the 6 yard box and his presence and physicality will take the attention off our other strikers.
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The title on his twitter says he's our "features editor".
Agree with this. He's the perfect assistant for Martial & Rashford. He will draw lots of attention.
This. On toast.
An enemy of your enemy is a friend after all...
Who else is pumped for the announcement video we'll put out? Let's face it that's what it's all about during transfer season. The Pogba content was epic last year I think we'll want to go big with this one as well.
Romelu Lukaku – Can He Become One Of The World’s Best Strikers?
Romelu Lukaku has been around the professional scene for a long while now, making his debut for Anderlecht as a schoolboy in 2009 when just 16. Given his early breakthrough into professional football, we sometimes forget that the Belgium International is still just 23 years of age. His excellent form in the 2010/2011 season earned him a move to Chelsea; however his progress stalled at the London club. He then enjoyed successful loan spells at both West Brom and Everton before signing permanently for the Merseyside club for a club record £28 million in 2014.
So the question we pose is, does Lukaku have the potential to be one of the world’s best strikers or is he on his way to being there already? To try and answer this, we shall compare Lukaku to a selection of top strikers both past and present; firstly we shall look at goal scoring before the age of 23 to see how Lukaku is progressing, whilst later on we shall look back at statistics from the past few seasons to see how Lukaku’s goals per game record and percentage of team goals scored and assisted stands against a selection of other strikers from the Premiership and across Europe.
Firstly we shall take a look at how the striker is developing season by season, taking into consideration all appearances, goals and assists.
Romelu Lukaku became a regular member of the Anderlecht first team in the 2009/10 season, and produced two excellent seasons, scoring 39 and creating 18 in 95 appearances, earning him a move to Chelsea. In his first year in England, Lukaku wasn’t given many opportunities at Stamford Bridge, instead playing more games for the reserve team. In the 2012/13 season, Lukaku was given the chance to show his talents when on loan at West Brom and he grasped this opportunity with both hands, scoring or assisting 24 goals in 38 appearances and then equally impressing the season after when on loan at Everton. His excellent performances and continued development saw Everton part with a club record £28 million to secure his services and he has continued to steadily improve in the two seasons after his permanent move to the Toffees.
Next up, we will compare Lukaku’s goal scoring exploits before the age of 23 to a handful of top strikers both past and present.
We can see that the statistics make for impressive reading when comparing Lukaku to a selection of the world’s best both past and present. Lukaku had scored more goals before the age of 23 than the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Luis Suarez, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Thierry Henry and Michael Owen. The Everton forward was only five goals behind Sergio Aguero and eight behind Lionel Messi at this stage of their careers – some big footsteps to be following in, but this shows that if he can continue steadily progressing, Everton may have a challenge on their hands to try and keep their star striker as undoubtedly other clubs will start knocking on the door. In fact, Lukaku’s father was last season quoted as saying his son was ready to secure a move away from Goodison Park to one of the European giants; however, a move failed to materialise over the summer.
When we take a look at the youngest players to reach 50 Premier League goals, we can see that Lukaku’s goal scoring exploits at an early age in the Premier League are very impressive.
Lukaku is the fourth youngest to reach 50 Premier League goals, and is one of only five players to achieve this feat before reaching the age of 23, joining the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Wayne Rooney, Michael Owen and Robbie Fowler.
We now turn our attention to how Lukaku’s goal per game record compares to a selection of top forwards. Data used is from the 2012/13 season up until the end of the 2015/16 season, and only league goals have been included. In Lukaku’s 2013/14 season, we have only included his record when on loan at Everton and have discounted his two substitute appearances for Chelsea. All data gathered has come from www.whoscored.com.
The comparison shows that Lukaku is not yet up to the standard of the very best strikers in world football with 0.44 goals per game; however, when looking at the players we have compared him to we can see that he has age on his side. An important factor to bear in mind when looking at this graph however, is that all other strikers on the list were plying their trade at clubs who generally score more goals and create more chances than Everton, so this will undoubtedly impact upon Lukaku’s goal return.
Finally, we shall investigate Lukaku’s importance to his side compared to that of a selection of Premier League strikers. To do this, we shall investigate the percentage of team league goals scored or assisted. Since Lukaku signed permanently for Everton in 2014, we will look back at the data from the last two Premier League seasons.
Over the last two Premier League seasons, Romelu Lukaku has shown his importance by scoring or assisting 36.45% of Everton’s goals; this shows that he has been of greater importance to Everton in attack than Diego Costa has been to Chelsea, Wayne Rooney has been to Manchester United and Olivier Giroud to Arsenal. However Harry Kane, Sergio Aguero and Jamie Vardy have proved to be more important for their teams than Lukaku has been to Everton, if judged by these statistics alone.
This investigation has revealed that Romelu Lukaku cannot be considered a world class striker just yet, which is shown by his goals per game record when compared to other elite strikers; however, this may drastically improve over time if he continues to develop. The Belgian has the potential to be a world beater, scoring more goals before the age of 23 than the likes of Cristian Ronaldo, Luis Suarez, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Thierry Henry. He blows hot and cold and divides opinion, but if he can continue to perform and improve, it will be interesting to see how high his ceiling is. Will we be talking about Lukaku in the same breath as the strikers in this analyses considered to be the world’s elite? His development certainly suggests this could be the case in the future.
Romelu Lukaku has been around the professional scene for a long while now, making his debut for Anderlecht as a schoolboy in 2009 when just 16. Given his early breakthrough into professional football, we sometimes forget that the Belgium International is still just 23 years of age. His excellent form in the 2010/2011 season earned him a move to Chelsea; however his progress stalled at the London club. He then enjoyed successful loan spells at both West Brom and Everton before signing permanently for the Merseyside club for a club record £28 million in 2014.
So the question we pose is, does Lukaku have the potential to be one of the world’s best strikers or is he on his way to being there already? To try and answer this, we shall compare Lukaku to a selection of top strikers both past and present; firstly we shall look at goal scoring before the age of 23 to see how Lukaku is progressing, whilst later on we shall look back at statistics from the past few seasons to see how Lukaku’s goals per game record and percentage of team goals scored and assisted stands against a selection of other strikers from the Premiership and across Europe.
Firstly we shall take a look at how the striker is developing season by season, taking into consideration all appearances, goals and assists.
Romelu Lukaku became a regular member of the Anderlecht first team in the 2009/10 season, and produced two excellent seasons, scoring 39 and creating 18 in 95 appearances, earning him a move to Chelsea. In his first year in England, Lukaku wasn’t given many opportunities at Stamford Bridge, instead playing more games for the reserve team. In the 2012/13 season, Lukaku was given the chance to show his talents when on loan at West Brom and he grasped this opportunity with both hands, scoring or assisting 24 goals in 38 appearances and then equally impressing the season after when on loan at Everton. His excellent performances and continued development saw Everton part with a club record £28 million to secure his services and he has continued to steadily improve in the two seasons after his permanent move to the Toffees.
Next up, we will compare Lukaku’s goal scoring exploits before the age of 23 to a handful of top strikers both past and present.
We can see that the statistics make for impressive reading when comparing Lukaku to a selection of the world’s best both past and present. Lukaku had scored more goals before the age of 23 than the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Luis Suarez, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Thierry Henry and Michael Owen. The Everton forward was only five goals behind Sergio Aguero and eight behind Lionel Messi at this stage of their careers – some big footsteps to be following in, but this shows that if he can continue steadily progressing, Everton may have a challenge on their hands to try and keep their star striker as undoubtedly other clubs will start knocking on the door. In fact, Lukaku’s father was last season quoted as saying his son was ready to secure a move away from Goodison Park to one of the European giants; however, a move failed to materialise over the summer.
When we take a look at the youngest players to reach 50 Premier League goals, we can see that Lukaku’s goal scoring exploits at an early age in the Premier League are very impressive.
Lukaku is the fourth youngest to reach 50 Premier League goals, and is one of only five players to achieve this feat before reaching the age of 23, joining the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Wayne Rooney, Michael Owen and Robbie Fowler.
We now turn our attention to how Lukaku’s goal per game record compares to a selection of top forwards. Data used is from the 2012/13 season up until the end of the 2015/16 season, and only league goals have been included. In Lukaku’s 2013/14 season, we have only included his record when on loan at Everton and have discounted his two substitute appearances for Chelsea. All data gathered has come from www.whoscored.com.
The comparison shows that Lukaku is not yet up to the standard of the very best strikers in world football with 0.44 goals per game; however, when looking at the players we have compared him to we can see that he has age on his side. An important factor to bear in mind when looking at this graph however, is that all other strikers on the list were plying their trade at clubs who generally score more goals and create more chances than Everton, so this will undoubtedly impact upon Lukaku’s goal return.
Finally, we shall investigate Lukaku’s importance to his side compared to that of a selection of Premier League strikers. To do this, we shall investigate the percentage of team league goals scored or assisted. Since Lukaku signed permanently for Everton in 2014, we will look back at the data from the last two Premier League seasons.
Over the last two Premier League seasons, Romelu Lukaku has shown his importance by scoring or assisting 36.45% of Everton’s goals; this shows that he has been of greater importance to Everton in attack than Diego Costa has been to Chelsea, Wayne Rooney has been to Manchester United and Olivier Giroud to Arsenal. However Harry Kane, Sergio Aguero and Jamie Vardy have proved to be more important for their teams than Lukaku has been to Everton, if judged by these statistics alone.
This investigation has revealed that Romelu Lukaku cannot be considered a world class striker just yet, which is shown by his goals per game record when compared to other elite strikers; however, this may drastically improve over time if he continues to develop. The Belgian has the potential to be a world beater, scoring more goals before the age of 23 than the likes of Cristian Ronaldo, Luis Suarez, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Thierry Henry. He blows hot and cold and divides opinion, but if he can continue to perform and improve, it will be interesting to see how high his ceiling is. Will we be talking about Lukaku in the same breath as the strikers in this analyses considered to be the world’s elite? His development certainly suggests this could be the case in the future.
Uneasy partner, more like. They did inflicted Moyes and Fellaini upon us, helped by our stupidity.
-- stares off into the distance wide-eyed and open-mouthed. Vietnam-esque flashbacks of David Moyes' face and interviews intermittently fill his vision, he hears the screams, the boos and he sees the hair --
How far away is he from Shearer's record?
After all the flak Rooney got for his latter career poor close ball control, I fear some posters are going to get sore fingers complaining about Lukaku's! He seems very inelegant and frankly abit rudimentary in ball skills etc.
As the Everton season ticket holder from reddit said, it seems Lukaku is crap at everything except finishing and scoring goals. Which is perfect as that's exactly what we need, but I hope we all realise that before we get on his back for it
We made the same mistake with Berbatov, criticising him for not running around like a Tevez type headless chicken, and the poor man got a complex about it, trying to become something he was not. I think it negatively impacted his game. Lets not make the same mistake with Lukaku
Considering we would have likely paid a similar amount for Morata I feel like this is the way to go. We could end up with Lukaku, Rashford and Martial as our forward options which is very exciting. All of whom have had another seasons experience. Hopefully Rooney the other way, give Lukaku #10 and Martial #9 as a show of good faith he needs to feel important and it looked like taking his number floored his confidence.
Zlatan was obviously a much better all round player while possibly still a little past it by the time he got here. I still think Lukaku will do very well for us and hopefully bring more out of the rest of the team in the coming seasons. He's a beast just reaching his peak and he's already been dominating the league for years now in worse teams. I daresay he'd have put away a fair few of the sitters Zlatan missed last season too, that's all we need really. It's not like Zlatan was making us tick outside the box or he scored loads of difficult goals, he was just putting chances away an elite striker should be putting away and holding up the ball to an ok standard. This is a Good signing. Good age and profile. It also weakens Chelsea more or less and theyll have to go down their list and find another option from outside the league. Good news all round I say!
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