David Richard-USA TODAY Sports
Chelsea haven’t gotten off to quite as good a start in the Premier League this season as they would have liked, and many of there issues can be traced to their lack of goal scoring. Chelsea are currently tied for 8th in the Premier League in goals scored, and they are 5th out of the big six in that department. Fernando Torres, Demba Ba and Samuel Eto’o simply haven’t gotten the job done thus far.
Eto’o is still working his way into form, while Ba has fallen down Jose Mourinho’s pecking order. Torres has improved from last season and is beginning to look like his old self, but he is now facing a potential four game suspension.
The decision to loan Romelu Lukaku to Everton is now looking like a very short sighted decision from Mourinho. The manager notoriously prefers veterans to young players, and it is for that reason that Eto’o was brought in while the 20-year old Belgian was loaned out. However, Lukaku is proving what he is capable of, and Chelsea must be regretting their decision.
Yesterday against Newcastle Lukaku was magnificent, scoring two goals and assisting on a third. He displayed all of his talents, beginning by hammering home a Kevin Mirallas cross in the 5th minute. In the 25th minute, Lukaku played a beautiful through ball to Ross Barkley at the edge of the box for Everton’s second goal. Finally, Lukaku demonstrated wonderful control deep in the box, maneuvering around Tim Krul and Fabricio Coloccini for an uncontested tap in.
Lukaku is a magnificently talented player with incredible athletic ability, and he is looking like he has the potential to develop into world class striker. He is still very young, but there is no doubt that he would be a better option than Eto’o and Ba for the Blues this season. He could be giving Chelsea the threat they need up top to support their superlative attacking midfielders, but sadly he is filling that role for Everton.
Loaning Lukaku was a mistake, but this will be the last season that Chelsea makes it.
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