Despite interest from Jose Mourinho’s Manchester United, Romelu Lukaku looks on the brink of joining champions Chelsea.
Having been overlooked in favour of the more established Diego Costa by Jose Mourinho, Lukaku has matured into one of the Premier League’s most prolific strikers. And with Antonio Conte needing to strengthen his squad with a view to competing in Europe next season, as well as retaining Chelsea’s Premier League crown, the Blues will have to add better quality to the starting XI rather than simply adding more squad players.
And when you look at the stats, you can see why Lukaku is an obvious choice.
For one thing, Chelsea scored seven goals from counter-attacks this season, more than any other team this season, and adding a player like the Belgian, known as a fast, powerful striker with a clinical finishing ability looks like the perfect addition, especially if Pedro and Eden Hazard stay at the club.
The other stat which stands out, though, is the amount of goals that Lukaku gets from inside the box.
His physicality may be his biggest quality, but his deadliness from around the penalty area is stunning. No one scored more Premier League goals from inside the box this season than Lukaku. But that’s a stat which should excite Chelsea fans about the Belgian if he does return to Stamford Bridge.
For one thing Lukaku outguns Diego Costa, presumably the player he’ll be replacing in the team. But this is also an area that Chelsea seem to dominate. Conte’s side are the only team to be represented twice in the top six for goals from inside the box, and Eden Hazard finds himself above Costa, too, as both players have shared the burden for the champions.
Replacing Costa with Lukaku would, according to the stats, add a player better suited to Chelsea’s style as well as strengthening a title-winning squad in a way that Jose Mourinho simply didn’t at the start of last season.
Question marks have surrounded the Belgian’s ability to turn up for big games, but at Chelsea, he’ll have more experienced players around him to help him keep his game consistent.
He could be the big signing Chelsea need to become the first side since Manchester United in 2009 to retain the Premier League title.
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