Everton can survive without Romelu Lukaku

Everton manager Ronald Koeman said in an interview with Belgian newspaper HLN that Romelu Lukaku’s “potential is higher than Everton as a final destination.”

We feared this moment would come. Most of us realize that a future Romelu Lukaku move is inevitable. He will invariably move on to a world juggernaut at some point. However, I don’t think Toffees supporters wanted to hear it from the manager so quickly or in such a callous manner.

This statement will not be received well by Toffees faithful. It shows Koeman doesn’t really believe his team has the pedigree or the potential to be one of the world’s best. He should think twice before making such inflammatory comments, especially regarding the club’s most important asset.

Here’s what Koeman said to the Belgian newspaper HLN.

“If Romelu was to play at Everton until the end of his career I know he has left something behind,” added the Dutchman, 53.

“I gave him confidence and he has himself recognised that it was good for his development to play another year at Everton. What after this season comes, no-one knows.”

What the future holds

Teams like Barcelona, Real Madrid, Manchester United and Chelsea have for a long time poached the marquee players from clubs with less financial clout. Tottenham were in a similar boat a few years ago. They had to let Gareth Bale and Luka Modric go to Real Madrid.

Spurs survived those gargantuan losses. It took them a while to recover fully and find consistency once more. But they did.

But it is possible, so Toffees supporters should take solace in that.

Lukaku is still an Everton player but, especially with the manager backing a potential future move, it might not be too long before Lukaku is poached by Barcelona, or another giant in the footballing world. Everton is, and always will be, bigger than an individual player and this holds true in Lukaku’s case.

Sure, losing Lukaku would be devastating. But it would not be catastrophic. Everton is strong, resilient and will thrive long after any player, no matter how valuable, moves on from Goodison.

Lukaku is still a Toffee

Let’s not forget that Lukaku still plies his trade for Everton. And he does so with great expertise. The big, powerful Belgian has scored seven goals so far this season, third most in the Premier League.

He’s the most integral part in Everton’s scoring machine, notching almost 50 per cent of Everton’s goals so far this season. The Toffees need him to stay focused on the job at hand as the Blues’ results are currently somewhat predicated on how well the striker performs.

Lukaku has scored 50 league goals since his arrival to Goodison in 2014. Here’s a reminder of what those strikes look like:

Now, let’s see all of Lukaku’s 25 goals in 2015-16.

Lukaku reminds Koeman of Patrick Kluivert

Patrick Kluivert scored 40 goals in 79 international games with the Dutch national team. So far, Lukaku has tallied 17 goals for Belgium and Koeman sees distinct similarities between the two.

“Kluivert was also a striker who was quite young when he was in the picture and had a fantastic career. Eventually Kluivert played for Barcelona, which could happen with Lukaku.

“I think Lukaku is quite complete. He can hold a ball and be a target man and, because he is tall and physically strong, you can play directly with the long ball,” Koeman said.

Next: Everton join chase for Charlton youngster Ademola Lookman

Barcelona on tap for Lukaku?

Lukaku is linked, albeit tenuously, to Barcelona. And Koeman thinks that could be a likely destination for the star striker. They will have to offer an extortionate sum of cash to pull Lukaku away Goodison.

Everton have already indicated that they are willing to offer their showcase striker a contract which would make him the club’s highest player.

Lukaku is under contract with Everton until 2019. The talisman has scored 68 goals in 137 Everton appearances.