Excellent piece on the situation:

http://www.espnfc.com/english-premier-league/23/blog/post/3141609/chelsea-will-struggle-to-replace-diego-costa-as-doubts-remain-over-lukaku

I for one think that the sheer amount of debate on Lukaku's abilities suggests there is more than a bit of risk with this deal. With that in mind he's not worth the 100m. For that sort of fee there should be no doubt. He should be the perfect fit. 

If we're throwing money at the  situation there are better strikers to spend it on. Notably Sanchez but we could probably buy Icardi and Belotti for that price. 

Aubameyang has apparently signed for 60 for PSG. It's debatable that Lukaku is a better player. This is a Torres like situation developing i feel. 

 

60 for Auba is a steal. Makes this deal look bad

1 hour ago, Spiller86 said:

Excellent piece on the situation:

http://www.espnfc.com/english-premier-league/23/blog/post/3141609/chelsea-will-struggle-to-replace-diego-costa-as-doubts-remain-over-lukaku

I for one think that the sheer amount of debate on Lukaku's abilities suggests there is more than a bit of risk with this deal. With that in mind he's not worth the 100m. For that sort of fee there should be no doubt. He should be the perfect fit. 

If we're throwing money at the  situation there are better strikers to spend it on. Notably Sanchez but we could probably buy Icardi and Belotti for that price. 

Aubameyang has apparently signed for 60 for PSG. It's debatable that Lukaku is a better player. This is a Torres like situation developing i feel. 

 

Agree with large parts of your post. I don't think Lukaku will quite be at Torres level - I actually think he'll put up close to 20 goals in the league, but I'm unsure about how large his total contribution will be.

I bolded Icardi because to me it's a mystery that with sums of 80-90 million being banded about there have been virtually no rumours about anyone trying to get Icardi, possibly the best striker that isn't impossible to get. Or am I just out of the loop regarding the new Inter owners and that they've publicly stated they won't sell him? For the sum Lukaku will seem to go for you'd think they would at least consider it. Wouldn't hurt trying.

1 hour ago, Spiller86 said:

Excellent piece on the situation:

http://www.espnfc.com/english-premier-league/23/blog/post/3141609/chelsea-will-struggle-to-replace-diego-costa-as-doubts-remain-over-lukaku

I for one think that the sheer amount of debate on Lukaku's abilities suggests there is more than a bit of risk with this deal. With that in mind he's not worth the 100m. For that sort of fee there should be no doubt. He should be the perfect fit. 

If we're throwing money at the  situation there are better strikers to spend it on. Notably Sanchez but we could probably buy Icardi and Belotti for that price. 

Aubameyang has apparently signed for 60 for PSG. It's debatable that Lukaku is a better player. This is a Torres like situation developing i feel. 

 

Don't think it is a Torres situation but the article says what a few of us have been for a while, Costa is a much better allround player it's madness to get rid of him and pay double for an inferior player unless totally necessary but it's to the point the coach sees it as such. 

1 hour ago, DonAntonio said:

Don't think it is a Torres situation but the article says what a few of us have been for a while, Costa is a much better allround player it's madness to get rid of him and pay double for an inferior player unless totally necessary but it's to the point the coach sees it as such. 

So conte is mad then? 

2 hours ago, Blue Train said:

Agree with large parts of your post. I don't think Lukaku will quite be at Torres level - I actually think he'll put up close to 20 goals in the league, but I'm unsure about how large his total contribution will be.

I bolded Icardi because to me it's a mystery that with sums of 80-90 million being banded about there have been virtually no rumours about anyone trying to get Icardi, possibly the best striker that isn't impossible to get. Or am I just out of the loop regarding the new Inter owners and that they've publicly stated they won't sell him? For the sum Lukaku will seem to go for you'd think they would at least consider it. Wouldn't hurt trying.

Don't think they seem to be interested in selling. Even Perisic or whatever is being talked about for a crazy fee. 

Costa will turn 29, Lukaku just turn 24, so it`s totally normal and it`s perfect decision.

Lukaku at 24 already scored more then Costa and improve season after season. Costa will regress season after season. And it`s all drama and sh**s about him. So that is the decision for Chelsea. And i said good job Conte you are the man for the job for long, long period.

And i said it again i can bet with whoever want it, that Lukaku is score 20+ goal in his first season with us.

 

 

50 minutes ago, brakeit said:

Costa will turn 29, Lukaku just turn 24, so it`s totally normal and it`s perfect decision.

Lukaku at 24 already scored more then Costa and improve season after season. Costa will regress season after season. And it`s all drama and sh**s about him. So that is the decision for Chelsea. And i said good job Conte you are the man for the job for long, long period.

And i said it again i can bet with whoever want it, that Lukaku is score 20+ goal in his first season with us.

 

 

Pure conjecture really, who knows who will improve season after season. Some playere peak early while some peak during their later years. Players who are consistent throughout their careers are few and far in between eg Ronaldo, Messi. But players of Lukaku's ilk who rely on physicality has the tendency to be hit and miss. 

What worries me most is when he said Koscielny is the toughest defender he's faced in the Prem. 

11 hours ago, Spiller86 said:

Excellent piece on the situation:

http://www.espnfc.com/english-premier-league/23/blog/post/3141609/chelsea-will-struggle-to-replace-diego-costa-as-doubts-remain-over-lukaku

I for one think that the sheer amount of debate on Lukaku's abilities suggests there is more than a bit of risk with this deal. With that in mind he's not worth the 100m. For that sort of fee there should be no doubt. He should be the perfect fit. 

If we're throwing money at the  situation there are better strikers to spend it on. Notably Sanchez but we could probably buy Icardi and Belotti for that price. 

Aubameyang has apparently signed for 60 for PSG. It's debatable that Lukaku is a better player. This is a Torres like situation developing i feel. 

 

Lukaku a gamble yet Icardi and Belotti wouldn't be? One season wonder Belotti with an 88M buyout clause and Icardi who will cost 96M according to Inter. Lukaku has proven he can do it in this league. 

If Auba was coming to the prem he would have costed closer to 100M, there is a premium when English teams buy because of the money and sponsorships in England.

17 minutes ago, RIP Mourinho said:

Lukaku a gamble yet Icardi and Belotti wouldn't be? One season wonder Belotti with an 88M buyout clause and Icardi who will cost 96M according to Inter. Lukaku has proven he can do it in this league. 

If Auba was coming to the prem he would have costed closer to 100M, there is a premium when English teams buy because of the money and sponsorships in England.

You could be right. My argument I guess is that they both would cost significantly less than Lukaku. I'm not buying those clauses for Belotti and Icardi.

Lukaku's all round game is poor and for 100m you want the total package. His form in the Belgium team is what bothers me most. All the resources and in the big games he looks consistently off the pace.

3 minutes ago, Spiller86 said:

You could be right. My argument I guess is that they both would cost significantly less than Lukaku. I'm not buying those clauses for Belotti and Icardi.

Lukaku's all round game is poor and for 100m you want the total package. His form in the Belgium team is what bothers me most. All the resources and in the big games he looks consistently off the pace.

Same as Costa with Spain though and he banged goals in for fun at Chelsea. I think if anyone is going to get the best out him it'll be Mr Conte.

Looks like we're buying him so hope you're right

9 hours ago, axman2526 said:

So conte is mad then? 

"Unless totally necessary but it's to the point the coach sees it as such" did you miss that half of the sentence? 

2 hours ago, RIP Mourinho said:

Same as Costa with Spain though and he banged goals in for fun at Chelsea. I think if anyone is going to get the best out him it'll be Mr Conte.

I wouldn't say Costa banged them in for fun though, most of them were hard fought. He fought tooth and nail for those chance and half chances

Every signing is a gamble in it's own way, Why most pundits believe Morata will turn into a goal machine for United ( if signed)?  The theme of this transfer window so far has been every players United/City linked with will turn into gold, while Chelsea only link up with the flops. Realistically, Luakau, Morta etc are the players on the market, we aren't going to sign players a level above them.

I suppose it's all about value...if a striker regularly gets you 20 plus goals a season his value will be more than those who doesn't...plus those with EPL experience may take less time to adjust to a new team and league compared to others...I must say that £100m is too much even for Lukaku...a price not helped by Conte's gaff and Costa's manoeuvrings...£70m is my ceiling for him and if more then walk away and leave Everton to it...Costa can stay and work for his living...he's still got 2 years on his contract and he knows he's got to keep putting them in in a world cup year...heaven for bide we may even use £30m Bats up front...!!

1 hour ago, icecoolguy22 said:

Every signing is a gamble in it's own way, Why most pundits believe Morata will turn into a goal machine for United ( if signed)?  

First off,  pundits have a love-in for Jose, Pep and Utd. Chelsea only come into the conversation when they feel like it eg. last season. 

Personally, I don't particularly put my hopes in Lukaku yet because he for me seems to be a bottler, the big teams that he scored against are us in the 15/16 calamitous season where Mikel didn't help and the defence was shambolic, City which aren't great defensively and Tottenham due to Vertonghen's slip. Drogba, Costa and in some instances even Torres (CL 2012) showed up when all things seemed lost. I haven't seen Lukaku turn up in games where it mattered most eg. penalty vs Bayern 12/13, vs Utd FA Cup 15/16. He even bottled last season's golden boot by 5 goals when he seemed a shoo in for winning it.

Morata otoh, played with/coached by some of the best in the game . He couldn't displace the BBC but there are only a handful of people that can mind you. Has scored in CLs against some of the best teams in the world. I don't really get the he might not be able to handle physicality in the PL as the guy is 1 inch shorter and if wiki is right ~10kg lighter than Lukaku but has a decent 1st touch and is comfortable dropping deep and playing wide (sometimes Allegri played him as a LW iirc). His deficiencies for me seemed to be goalscoring and playing with his back to goal. If ever a person needed Rene Meulensteen, it'd be him.

If I had to compare, Lukaku feels like a Higuain while Morata feels like C. Ronaldo before his breakout season

If Chelsea do sign Lukaku, I wish him the best and hope he'll get over his weaknesses and improve on his strength. If Morata does go to Utd then I hope he flops

2 hours ago, Deino said:

His deficiencies for me seemed to be goalscoring and playing with his back to goal. If ever a person needed Rene Meulensteen, it'd be him.

Morata scored 20 goals last season at a rate of one every 83 minutes he was on the pitch ... not what I'd call deficient in the goal scoring department !

I'm sure Conte would be happy with either of them to be honest, but you can see a few reasons why we might have a preference for Lukaku.

I just hope Bats gets a chance. I think he might turn out to be pretty good with a bit of faith ... I like his attitude and body language. He has that bit of swagger I think all great strikers have.

 

Edited June 12, 20179 yr by Sexyfootball

Lukaku is utter w**k.  Let's hope Citeh swoop in and save us from ourselves  like they did with Stones. 

To inconsistent for me. One minute hes on fire the next he looks lazy.....

Plus hes only played epl what if hes brutal in the champions league?

Not worth more than 50mil imo 

Is Lukaku the best striker we can get? Be a bit disappointed if we ended up signing Lukaku to be honest.

He's been decent for Everton but we sold him for a good fee and there's no way he's tripled his value since he left. 

I'm just speculating here but Lukaku doesn't strike me as a Conte signing. And we really should be going all out for the manager’s targets. 

 

 

 

On 10/06/2017 at 12:23, dkw said:

... he was constantly trying to play of the defenders, looking to run in behind, rarely coming to face the ball..

For me this is a part of what some are choosing to call his improvement. Shortly after he arrived I said that he was not good enough for this level and should not be with Chelsea. I did say however that he would learn to make the most of his positive attributes; that he would figure out what he can & cannot do and that he would build his game around his strengths while doing his best not to expose his weaknesses. That's what he's done and fair play to him. Not a player I want Chelsea to sign but he makes a contribution to his teams in the best way he knows how.

On 10/06/2017 at 12:23, dkw said:

...When he did come for the ball it invariably bounced of him or a defender took it of him...

This is about his basic quality and that is something which cannot be improved. Never had it, doesn't have it, never will have it.

 

On 10/06/2017 at 12:23, dkw said:

..I hope Conte can get him past these weaknesses...

No chance. The lad has been around professional football for half his life. He's maximised his technical quality long ago. There is no improvement to come in this regard and there are no magic wands with which coaches can work miracles.

Edited June 12, 20179 yr by OhForAGreavsie

On 6/11/2017 at 08:45, bjd said:

Mate Costas first touch is a shocker most of the time. It causes the breakdown of so many attacks, along with the needless dribbling, as you rightly point out.

If Costas first touch is a shocker i have no idea what you would call Lukakus first touch. Costa has carried the load of his teams offense to win 3 titles. one with Athletico and 2 with Chelsea. The fact that Mourinho let lukaku go with no buy back clause lets u know how much he rated costa over lukaku. Diego is a world class Foward and Lukaku is trying to develop into one. Anyone that thinks Lukaku is on Costas level or think he is worth stupid money needs a shrink. I feel like Lukaku is not worthy to replace Costa and is def not worth over 50 million.

14 hours ago, Deino said:

Pure conjecture really, who knows who will improve season after season. Some playere peak early while some peak during their later years. Players who are consistent throughout their careers are few and far in between eg Ronaldo, Messi. But players of Lukaku's ilk who rely on physicality has the tendency to be hit and miss. 

What worries me most is when he said Koscielny is the toughest defender he's faced in the Prem.

If you not see how much Lukaku improved from the moment he came to England, then you have a big problem.

He improve all of his game and all of his attributes and do it year after year. Why would he stop now?
I`m pretty sure he will make the final step, when he came to us. Conte will make him better, just like it happen with a lot of our players. Moses for example, also Alonso who become better with every past game.

And Belotti and Icardi won`t be sold for less then 80mln. at best.

Milan wanted Belotti and was offered 50mln. + 2 players, and their bid was rejected.

Aubameyang is a light striker, he won`t fit our style for sure. We need typical striker like Lukaku/Costa/Drogba. That`s what work perfect for us.

 

Mourinho is not always much of a judge of forwards. He let a lot of good players go and bought badly at times.

Lukaku has to show he can play the Chelsea way and I've had my reservations but players with a high work rate are a dime a dozen, players scoring 20 goals a season in the premier league are fairly scarce.