If Romelu Lukaku gets his wish to leave Everton, Steve Nicol believes the striker will struggle if he returns to Chelsea, but is his assessment right?
There has been a lot of talk about how Everton would be impacted if Romelu Lukaku leaves – and rightly so. Losing 25 goals from your lineup is a lot for any team to contend with over the course of a season.
However, maybe we also need to spend more time considering how Lukaku would be affected, if he gets his wish to ply his trade elsewhere. More specifically, if he returns to Chelsea.
In that respect, former Liverpool defender Steve Nicol is not convinced the 24-year old will succeed, if he goes back to Stamford Bridge. Consider his comments made on ESPN FC, as reported by Lewis Winter of the Sunday Express:
"“The likes of Everton play a certain way, basically he has Carte blanche in the attacking third, where he has lots of space to run at people, use his power and strength and score goals,” said Nicol.“That’s not how Chelsea play, there’s a lot more passing, it’s a lot more intricate, there’s less space for sure. I don’t see how this guy is going to be so good with his back to goal, 25 yards out, trying to play little one-twos with (Eden) Hazard.”"
In short, Nicol does not see Lukaku forming a good connection with Hazard and believes he will not live up to his billing. This understandably leads to the question of if the ESPN FC pundit is right in his assessment?
First of all, let’s consider the qualifications of the man making the comments. Nicol has a resume which includes five first division titles, three FA Cup winners medals and the 1984 European Cup while playing for Liverpool.
In addition, the 55-year was head coach of the New England Revolution for 10 years. In short, the guy has the experience and deserves some respect for his comments, i.e. he knows what he’s talking about.
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However, in the interest of objectivity (or playing Devil’s advocate), is it possible that Nicol is wrong in his assessment? After all, it’s not as if Chelsea are unfamiliar with Lukaku, after he previously joined them in 2011.
Yes, Antonio Conte was not manager of the Pensioners back then, but there are still plenty of people around Stamford Bridge, who were there when Lukaku last played for them. If he was really such a bad fit, do you genuinely believe Chelsea would be so interested in re-signing him?
Everton are apparently asking for £100 million, which is obviously a lot of money. Speculation suggests they will be prepared to accept £80 million and we’re at the point where they should probably just accept any bid around this amount.
The reality is the money would be extremely beneficial for Ronald Koeman’s future ambitions. Lukaku has made it clear he does not see his future at Everton, so they may as well cash in.
Overall, you cannot blame the Belgium international for wanting to improve his chances of winning medals. However, with further reference to Nicol’s comments, be careful what you wish for – the grass isn’t always greener on the other side, even if you have been there before.
Next: How realistic is the pursuit of Gylfi Sigurdsson?
As an Everton fan, if you can take an objective position, consider the following two question: 1) How do you realistically see the team being affected by Lukaku leaving? 2) Allowing for Nicol’s comments, what kind of success do you see the striker having, if he does return to Chelsea? Share your thoughts in the comments section.