4) Romelu Lukaku: Everton
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Everton; a club that have always been on the cusp of greatness but never achieving or fulfilling their true potential. The weaker of the two Merseyside clubs that have struggled in mid-table mediocrity in recent years, the Toffees briefly flirted with Champions League qualification before conceding points in crucial fixtures.
But they do have the Premier League’s top goalscorer this season. Romelu Lukaku – signed for a club record £28m after impressing on loan (the club took great pains to point out that it was a club record at the time) – has scored 24 goals this season. The 23-year-old striker is well on course to win the Golden Boot but he does have Harry Kane breathing down his neck.
He has started all but two league games this season and his performances have already won the admiration of two managers looking to replace their own strikers. Chelsea’s Antonio Conte looks resigned to the fact that Diego Costa will not be around next season and signing Lukaku – a former Blues player himself – looks like his best bet on bringing in a player whose physicality and eye for goal in the Premier League has been immense.
The other is Manchester United’s Jose Mourinho. With 35-year-old Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s season over and no timetable on his possible return, the club may not offer him a new contract next season without knowing how effective he would be. Another season in transition is not what Mourinho wants and a readymade striker who can play on for years is one he desperately needs.
Lukaku himself has questioned Everton’s ambitions saying they’ve been “living in the past” – alluding to their pride in the club’s history with no real plans for the future. Having rejected a contract extension, he could be on his way out of Goodison Park – but to which Premier League side?
