Belgian Rom's hat-trick brings more suitors

Whitesnake references? There'll be Trouble!

Hah, I'm glad someone noticed it, Dennis! Was hoping I'd get to use it during the season while he was in Blue but, of course, the occasion never arose.

Regarding the topic at hand, I do expect Lukaku to have a good tournament. He seems to enjoy the big stage and there are some players like that who just come alive at the World Cup.

Chelsea would be mad to let him go. He's exactly what they lack.
Hope they do let him leave like, but if the only way we could service a deal involved Stones, I'd look elsewhere.

I was reading Lukaku's goalscoring record, at 21, compared to his peers and he's scored more goals than Messi, Owen, Droghba, Suarez, Ibra, Etoo etc....at the same age. Not bad for a 'useless, no touch, lump' isn't it?

I'd offer the chavs £25m plus add-ons and get the lad signed up. We can always sell him to Madrid for £100m in a few seasons.

Colin @287
Spot on.

One way that we can avoid being steamrollered into selling off our best homegrown talent is to invest in young talent, and the kind that will bag us a fat juicy dividend.

It's called "trading up", and we really should be doing it.

I agree Colin, its a no brainer for us to sign him for £25m, I believe he's certain to grow in value.

Unfortunately I don't think he will be playing for us, as he will have plenty of other suitors that will 'out money' us.

Our only chance will because he may want to play under Roberto's tutorage for 2 years or so. Maybe I'm being somewhat naive, & to answer my self, probably.

I think, if it's true, Dortmund would be attractive to him with CL football, the possibility to work with Klopp, playing in an attacking team etc... Our advantage is he seemed to enjoy his time with us, he obviously loves Roberto and most of the fans (I repeat, most) and players, want him to stay. I suppose it will come down to who can offer him the juiciest contract and in that respect I think we can outbid the Germans as they run an even tighter ship than we do.

Raymond, I'd love to think you were right but I've always understood the attraction Roberto had for him was another £10k a week against what West Brom were offering.

I suspect it's Everton who will be outbid this time round!

I've been puzzled by Roberto's choice of style for the 3 forwards he's brought in - Lukaku, Traore, Kone, given the type of football we play. They provide a significant physical threat and Rom has shown he can score goals in different teams.

I'm surprised he doesn't go for nimbler, less physical ball players . The way we create chances 20 goals a season should be feasible for our striker next season .... whoever he is.

I'm sure he enjoyed his time with us. I expect he enjoyed his 17-goal season at West Brom too. I think we need to accept the reality that, barring a miracle, Lukaku will be playing elsewhere next season.

If any monied Champions League team comes in for him then his rapport with the Goodison faithful is going to count for very little. It was nice while it lasted but we need to look elsewhere for our new striker!

Well if a good World Cup ups his value will a bad World Cup lower it? He's going to be up against defenses a lot tougher than Luxembourg's. What if he doesn't score any goals at all?

Remember Diouff at Liverpool. Bought for 10 million quid on the back of a good World Cup. He scored a miserable 6 goals in 80 appearances (3 in 55 in the league). Turned out he wasn't quite the goal machine they thought he's be.

The fact is that a purple patch at a World Cup means nothing and paying out a lot of cash for such a player is a big risk. We have to look a Lukaku over the time he has been in the PL and base our valuation on that.

Remember we brought Daniel Amokachi after a good showing at USA 94 and he didn't turn into the striker we hoped he would be. He had done well at Club Brugge prior to the move but I'm sure it was his display with the Super Eagles that bumped his price up.

Buying any player is a gamble. Some you win (Cahill, Arteta, McCarthy etc...) and some you lose (Nyarko, Davies, Bilyaletdinov etc...).

Phil #322

The reason Martinez likes a big fella up top, is so that our quicker, more nimble players can play off him. He likes a target man who can score goals, create space with runs off the ball, and bring other players into the game.

When I say a target man, I mean one that can and does score goals as well.

Personally I think we've got about as much chance of signing Lukaku as we have of signing Ferenc Puskas.

I doubt scoring 3 against Luxembourg will really change any scout's mind. Let's see how he does against actual opposition at the World Cup.

Frank (335) - I am pretty sure the manager already has a firm idea of where the player ranks on his list of targets, and probably an upper figure that the club would sanction as well. Nothing he does at the World Cup (other than picking up a nasty injury) will change that opinion.

I very much doubt that most clubs will not already know all they need to know about Romelu Lukaku, but a good tournament will raise his profile and may convince a few waverers that he is worth the investment as an effective player with the added bonus of worldwide marketability.

See we just signed Puskas on a freebie!

He said he was always Hungary to play for the mighty blues.

I will be extremely shocked if Rom is with us next year. By the lad's own admissions, he's a Champions League player.

It is not often that you come across an article that you think sums it up perfectly for me, but I did this morning — in the Metro of all places.

I have been a fan of Lukaku before we signed him and I struggle to see why we appear to dither when a World Cup is upon us and we all know prices can go crazy.

Anyway this is the article below and I would be very interested in comments and viewpoints.

Romelu Lukaku again this week demonstrated why he has the potential to become one of Europe’s most feared strikers.

Okay it was ‘only’ Luxembourg, but his hat-trick in a 6-1 friendly win for Belgium maintained the momentum gained following a successful season on loan at Everton.

Lukaku hit 15 league goals and quickly became the focal point of the side, just as he did on loan at West Brom the previous campaign. He already has more league goals at the age of 21 than Lionel Messi, Michael Owen, Wayne Rooney and Alan Shearer.

Despite his extraordinary efforts, it looks likely that he will leave parent club Chelsea after a disagreement with Jose Mourinho.

That presents Everton with a golden opportunity they cannot afford to turn down. If they can persuade Lukaku to sign on permanently (and raise the necessary funds) then they will be in a no-lose situation.

The worst case scenario would be that Lukaku fails to live up to his potential, but at just 21 he would still carry a significant sell-on value, meaning the Toffees could cash in on him if needs be.

However, should he prove a success, Lukaku could score the goals that fires Everton into the Champions League – something they came very close to doing this season.

Even if Lukaku then pushes for a move, Everton would still be able to make a significant profit on his sale and reinvest in the squad elsewhere. But if that dream scenario is to be realised they need to get a move on.

Roberto Martinez says he is willing to wait until late in the window to make a move to sign Lukaku. But that is taking a huge risk given with each passing week and impressive performance his value is only going to go up.

With Christian Benteke injured, Lukaku is set to lead the line for Belgium at the World Cup, exposing his talents to a worldwide audience.

A successful tournament would only increase the already lengthy list of suitors keen on signing him, clubs who have greater finance and Champions League football to offer the former Anderlecht man.

Everton’s finances are healthier than they have been in a while but they have no chance of winning a bidding war for Lukaku should one break out. Rumours suggest Lukaku would be willing to consider a permanent move to Everton given how much he enjoyed his loan spell and the progress he made under Martinez’s guidance.

However, any edge Everton have because of that goodwill will quickly ebb away the moment finance is brought into the equation. Martinez has the opportunity to sign a hugely talented 21-year-old striker with genuine world-class potential. He needs to make his move before it is too late.

According to the Express, Chelsea have offered Lukaku plus £18m to Roma in exchange for Mehdi Benatia. Roma have close associations with our neighbours so I wouldn't want him to go there as he will be back in England in twelve months and not so far from Goodison.

It has been reported that as part of a player swap deal Rom has signed for Roma.

It was good while it lasted.

It's a rumour of an offer in the Mirror, Dick, that's not quite the same thing. It does appear however that every team in the world except Chelsea wants him, so we don't seem to have much chance.

According to the Daily Express Lukaku is now going on loan to Atletico Madrid as part of the Costa deal. No doubt to damage any opponents Chelsea might meet in the CL.

Chelsea won't sell him while they're using him as a spoiler against any potential opposition in either in the PL or the CL.

It's up to Lukaku, assuming he wants a proper career, to insist that he won't be loaned out again and will only accept a proper transfer if Chelsea don't want him.