Romelu Lukaku’s good form for West Brom isn’t great news for Ireland fans as it means Shane Long will play second fiddle at the Hawthorns, but for the Belgian it is sweet relief following a thoroughly underwhelming first year at Chelsea.
Heralded as one of the best young strikers in the world after becoming the top scorer in the Belgian Pro League at the tender age of 17, Lukaku joined Chelsea from Anderlecht in summer 2011 for a fee that could rise to €20 million.
But he only made 12 appearances in the league and cup for the Blues despite Fernando Torres’ stuttering form and the fact that Drogba was not used often in the league.
The move to West Brom has been a breath of fresh air for the striker who stands at 1m90. Lukaku has scored nine league goals in 22 league appearances and should be in line for a start against Liverpool tomorrow night.
Although he has two assists, he still needs to work on his overall game as he has a poor pass completion rate of just 69 per cent. But at 19, he still has a wealth of time left to enhance his attributes.
This summer will be particularly crucial for his development.
Parent club
Back at his parent club, Chelsea, Roman Abramovich and whichever manager is currently employed by the Russian – Rafa Benitez for now – still persevere with Fernando Torres, while new acquisition Demba Ba is likely to remain ahead of Lukaku in the pecking order regardless of form.
With the atmosphere at Stamford Bridge poisoned by routine managerial purges and constant controversy, Lukaku would be wise to seek at least a loan move away next season so as not to disturb the steady progress he is making.
The same could be said of Josh McEachran. The young Englishman came through Chelsea’s youth ranks and made his first-team debut in September 2010 but since then he has not had much of an opportunity at Stamford Bridge.
He has considerable talent, excellent technically, with a great eye for a pass, although having said that, it is too early to judge whether the 19-year-old has the potential to be world class.
However he is currently impressing out on loan in Middlesbrough’s midfield after spending time away at Swansea at the tail end of last season.
The youngster has provided three assists from his midfield base, although he is yet to score in his 26 appearances, a part of his game he will hope to develop.
But that development is unlikely to come at Chelsea where non established youth players – Oriol Romeu, Fabio Borini (now at Liverpool), Jack Cork (Southampton), Scott Sinclair (Man City) and Lucas Piazon are good examples – can have their careers stalled through lack of opportunities and the results-driven managerial merry-go-round.
Of course there are rare exceptions like Victor Moses and Ryan Bertrand who can establish themselves as established squad members.
A midfield spot in Chelsea’s squad may open up with Frank Lampard set to leave this summer, but it is likely that Abramovich will sanction a move for a marquee signing rather than elevate McEachran.
In those circumstances, he would be wise to extend his stay at Boro or at least try to secure a loan deal at a lower-to-mid-table Premier League side if the North-East outfit do not get promoted.
