Chelsea striker Romelu Lukaku has conceded that he remains positive about his season long loan deal to Everton, which was sealed in a controversial deadline day move from the Blues, and saw him decline the chance to work again with Steve Clark and West Bromwich Albion in favor of the Merseyside club.
Jose Mourinho will hope the hype of his return to Stamford Bridge settles down with time, as the Barclays Premier League season is very well underway. Mourinho’s much-publicized move from Real Madrid stole the early headlines in the summer transfer window, and linked many stars from around Europe to the club. However, with the additions of Andre Schurrle, Marco van Ginkel, Willian and Samuel Eto’o, the striking department was overloaded with talent without consistency. Fernando Torres has been working on his performances over time, and even though the goals remain dried up, the Spaniard’s performances have improved over time. Some supporters may agree that even though big name additions like Eto’o grabbed headlines, it may have only complicated proceedings with squad selection. The former Barcelona striker’s arrival left little room for players like Lukaku and Victor Moses to feature regularly in the side.
Lukaku had returned to Chelsea from his loan spell at West Brom last season, and supporters wanted to see the young Belgian being given a chance in the first team. However, Mourinho had other ideas, and deadline day saw Lukaku being linked with a move away from London. West Brom coach Clark admitted he would always be open for Lukaku to return to the Hawthorns, and reports suggested the striker did contemplate a return. However, with new manager Roberto Martinez in charge at Goodison Park, Lukaku decided to pick a different challenge and head to Merseyside for a season.
Everton’s credentials were reiterated this weekend, as Chelsea faced them at Goodison Park, and to add to the irony, the home side beat Mourinho’s men 1-0 thanks to a goal from Steven Naismith. Even though Lukaku could not feature against his parent club due to Premier League rules, he will be excited for the season ahead.
According to the Metro, Lukaku said, “Everton is a good club for me and you can see it’s a good footballing team. For me it was the most important thing that I could learn on the footballing side and be more clever and much more deadly in front of goal.”
After Wednesday night’s shocking 2-1 loss to Basel in the Champions League, Mourinho may well be regretting the decision to let Lukaku go to Everton as his side looked short of an in-form goal poacher. His side rarely threatened the goal apart form Oscar’s actual goal in the first half and the Brazilian hitting the bar in the second half. It was a disappointing display at best and worrying at worst.