Lukaku close to Chelsea move
Romelu Lukaku is set to become a Chelsea player this week after the Anderlecht striker underwent a medical with the club.
The Belgian has caught the eye of a number of Europe’s top clubs after his free-scoring efforts for Anderlecht, but he has made it clear he is determined to move to Stamford Bridge.
That move came one step closer yesterday morning when the 18-year-old took part in a medical at the Blues’ training ground in Cobham after the two clubs agreed a fee, thought to be between £15m and £20m.
Lukaku would only say he thought Andre Villas-Boas was a “very good manager” when bombarded with questions by the waiting media as he stepped off his Eurostar train at London St Pancras station.
He was expected to return to Belgium to report for international duty before coming back to London on Thursday to finalise the deal following his country’s home friendly against Slovenia.
Lukaku’s power, pace and eye for goal have seen him compared with current Chelsea striker Didier Drogba.
His record in Belgian football is impressive. He made his first-team debut at Anderlecht when he was 16 and has averaged almost a goal every two games in the Jupiler League.
His goals helped Anderlecht win the Belgian title in 2010 and he scored three times in the Champions League qualifying round last season, although the team went out before the group stage.
Lukaku, whose father Roger played for Zaire in the 1990s, has won 10 caps for Belgium, scoring two goals.
If the deal is completed as expected, Lukaku could figure in Villas-Boas’ plans for Sunday’s Barclays Premier League opener against Stoke.
He will face tough competition for a place in the Chelsea starting line-up though, with Drogba, Fernando Torres, Salomon Kalou, Daniel Sturridge and Nicolas Anelka already vying for a place up front.
Villas-Boas has used all five players during the club’s faultless pre-season campaign, with Sturridge providing the 33-year-old manager with a reminder of his skills by scoring twice in the win over Rangers at the weekend.
The England Under-21 international, who impressed while on loan at Bolton last year, still thinks he is some way off match sharpness following his return from this summer’s European Championships, but hopes to persuade Villas-Boas to play him regularly this term after he returns from a three-match suspension.
Sturridge told Chelsea’s website: “It has been a difficult pre-season because after finishing playing in the European Under-21 Championships I didn’t have much holiday before coming back in, but the manager has involved me a lot which I have been very happy with.
“I am just going to train very hard and once the ban ends, I hope I will be in the manager’s plans.”
