Why Romelu Lukaku still has a lot to prove

Romelu Lukaku (R)

Chelsea have been praised by some and criticised by others for having an incredible 24 players currently out on loan. It is a policy that could pay real dividends in the future, as players can nurture their talent while playing regular football. There is, however, one player most think should have been kept on the books at Stamford Bridge – Romelu Lukaku.

After Didier Drogba’s departure from West London, the Belgian striker would have fit the mould perfectly; a strong, bullish centre forward with good pace and a natural ability to find the net. But Jose Mourinho saw the 20-year-old as surplus to requirements this season, clearly believing the striker needed another year of regular football, after having spent the previous term on loan at West Brom.

Roberto Martinez was all too eager to snap Lukaku up for the season, and theEverton boss was rewarded early on as he scored four in his first three Premier League appearances for the Toffees. The goals have dried up somewhat, though, and he has only netted once in the last nine games.

That said, compare Lukaku to Chelsea’s current crop of strikers and you notice he leads the way in the goalscoring charts, despite Samuel Eto’o’s recent hat-trick against Manchester United. But, despite that early season form which led to many questioning Mourinho’s decision to ship him out, Lukaku hasn’t completely made his parent club regret letting him go for the season.

There is clearly much Lukaku needs to improve on, and a manager like Martinez is certainly capable of bringing that out of him – something Mourinho almost certainly considered when letting him go to Merseyside. The natural talent is there for all to see, but his is still rough around the edges.

Lukaku Pass Map vs West Brom (A) – PL 2013/14

His link-up play isn’t the finished article – a season average passing accuracy of 66 per cent is not as good as it should be, and in Everton’s last Premier League game against West Brom fewer than half his passes found a team-mate.

His shooting accuracy makes more impressive reading though as, since joining Everton, he has registered a higher ratio of shots on target per attempt than the likes of Alvaro Negredo, Olivier Giroud and even Luis Suarez have achieved in the same period.

Shot Accuracy Rankings – PL (from 31/08/2013)

With fourth place, and the Champions League spot that goes with it, a real possibility for Everton, Lukaku has the chance to fire a side to a big achievement, and with that comes the maturity that Mourinho will be looking for when he returns to Stamford Bridge in the summer.

The Blues boss will be pleased with the Belgian’s progress so far, as undoubtedly will Martinez, but there is still much to learn for Drogba Mark II.