To Infinity And Beyond. The Rise Of Romelu Lukaku


“After scoring I dived into a sea of happiness. You think you are flying and can take on the whole world!” These were the words spoken by a big, burly Belgian after scoring what would prove to be just the first of many goals in this young man’s career. Romelu Lukaku first burst onto the scene on the day he turned 16 and signed his first professional contract with Anderlecht. He would go on to become the league’s top goalscorer that season with 15 goals as Anderlecht celebrated yet another League triumph. He followed this up with 20 goals the following season and although ‘Les Mauves et Blancs‘ failed to retain their crown, a new star was shining ever so brightly.

Lukaku was turning heads with his technical ability. He was making waves across Europe and this led Chelsea to splash out 17 million pounds on a fresh faced 18-year old. He wasn’t proven, but he was promising and after spending most of his time in the shadows of the reserves he turned in a man-of-the-match performance in his first Premier League start for the Blues. When Didier Drogba’s penalty against Bayern Munich secured a first ever Champions League for the London side, Lukaku refused to lift the trophy claiming that “he did not feel like a winner”.

He knew what he was capable of, he just needed the chance to prove it. Chelsea refused to part ways with their prized asset, yet couldn’t promise him regular football so after an initial loan move to West Brom materialised, he never looked back. He scored on his debut in a 3-0 win over Liverpool and went on to out-score all of his Chelsea team-mates with 17 league goals that season, including a superb hat-trick against Man United in the Premier League’s first ever 5-5 draw and Sir Alex Ferguson’s final game in charge. A further loan spell the following season, this time to Everton produced another debut goal – this time a winner at West Ham. He finished with 15 league goals as Everton ended the season in 5th with a highest ever points tally of 72, narrowly missing out on the Champions League.

On the 5th of March 2017, Romelu Lukaku scored his 61st Premier League goal for Everton in a 3-2 defeat away at Tottenham. Duncan Ferguson scored 60 league goals for Everton – a record that stood for over 10 years but after making his move to Everton permanent in 2014, it took Lukaku just three and a half seasons to break it.. The 2015-16 season saw him become the first Everton player in over 20 years to score 20+ goals in back-to-back seasons. He made it three-in-a-row in 2016/17 as he ended the campaign with 25 strikes to his name.

A player's career is ultimately defined by the trophy’s that they win. Ronald Koeman suggested towards the end of last year that Lukaku had outgrown Everton and was destined for bigger and better things. “Lukaku has the potential to become an amazing striker… Everton should normally not be the end for him. Patrick Kluivert also rose to prominence at a young age and enjoyed a fantastic career. He eventually played for Barcelona and I can see Lukaku doing the same.”

His meteoric rise up the footballing ladder continued and on the 10th July 2017, Lukaku finally earned his dream move. Amidst speculation that he was about to re-join former club Chelsea, Manchester United swooped in and announced the record-signing of Romelu before handing him the iconic number 9 jersey. He recently admitted to MUTV that Pogba was hugely influential in ensuring that Manchester was his desired destination. “I spoke with Paul a lot, obviously, we spent our holiday together and he asked: ‘What do you want to do?’ I told him that I was thinking a lot about signing for United, something was telling me to do it.”

He has hit the ground running on pre-season tour in the States, netting twice in five outings and is set to make his Old Trafford bow when the Premier League returns on August 12th. United host West Ham at the Theatre of Dreams on opening day and the Irons will surely be shaking at the sheer thought of the occasion. In 12 appearances against them, Lukaku has scored 9 times, more than he’s managed against any other opponent and you wouldn’t put it past a player, who is still unbelievably only 24-years-old, to net yet another goal on debut and make it a perfect 10 against the Hammers.

 

Published: 08/08/2017