When Everton forked out a club-record £28million fee for Romelu Lukaku last summer, it seemed like a justifiable price for one of the Premier League’s most promising talents.
This is, after all, the same Romelu Lukaku that’s been compared to Didier Drogba since Chelsea first signed him aged just 18, that’s already scored 38 Premier League goals at just 21 years of age, that lead the line for Belgium, reaching the quarter-finals, at the 2014 World Cup, that netted 15 times on loan at Goodison Park last season, firing the Toffees to their best finish in the English top flight since 2009.
If there’s one thing Everton intrinsically lacked throughout the David Moyes era, it was a dependable, long-term goalscorer. The Belgium international more than fitted that category, and if the Toffees weren’t paying £28million for the youngster’s enormous potential, it was, at the very least, to remedy a problem that’s plagued them for the best part of a decade, hopefully for the best part of the next decade, by signing a player already proven to fit the template at Goodison Park.
Half a season and a string of disappointing performances later however, producing the miserly return of six goals in 21 Premier League outings, and that figure is suddenly beginning to look a rather extortionate one. Resembling closer the next Emmanuel Adebayor than the next Drogba, did Everton overpay for their club record signing?
Of course, Everton’s many problems this season, as they lay in 12th place, can’t be solely pinned on their goal-shy frontman. Ropey defending has been the predominant issue, resulting in the third-worst goals conceded record in the division, in addition to a laborious, full-back-centric approach in attack, which has often rendered Lukaku a lonely and frustrated figure in the final third. Steve Bruce believes a team can only be as good as it’s strikers; but a striker’s ability to effect a match is intertwined with the performances of the ten men behind him.
That being said, the former Chelsea prodigy has looked a disturbingly less complete striker this season and one ponders how far along the development curve he actually is. His strength, power and speed remain undoubted but the technical side of his game, particularly his link-up play and close control, leaves a lot to be desired. He currently averages more unsuccessful touches per match than Charlie Austin, Mario Balotelli, Danny Welbeck, Wilfried Bony, Bafetimbi Gomis, Andy Carroll, Graziano Pelle and Loic Remy to name a few – strikers who all cost their respective clubs parallel or lesser amounts than Lukaku’s £28million.
Equally, for a 6 foot 3 front-man blessed with an imperious leap, 1.5 successful aerial duels per match is an incredibly underwhelming return – for comparison, compatriot Christian Benteke is at 4.7 per match and West Ham’s Andy Carroll leads the Premier League rankings with 9.3 – whilst in terms of movement in the final third, he just hasn’t been in sync with those around him this season.
Once again, the style of Everton’s build-up play is a significant factor. Last season, the Toffees were varied in their play and rhythm, the midfield and full-backs providing the aesthetic passing game one would expect of a Roberto Martinez side and Lukaku offering a diversely direct, alternative avenue forward.
Opposing defences struggled to contain both at the same time, and it was upon switching between the two that the Belgium international became his most effective. In sharp contrast, Everton’s build-up play this year has been short and slow, the expansive Martinez philosophy becoming increasingly dogmatic, and Lukaku simply isn’t receiving the same kind of service.
Yet, any brand of football under Martinez will always be technically-demanding – the customary hallmark imprinted on every team he’s managed. For £28million, you’d expect a striker, regardless of his individual style, to have a varied enough game to participate effectively. Wilfried Bony, for example, whom Manchester City paid an identical fee for this January, has improved his close control, movement and link-up play at a considerably superior rate since first joining Swansea City, another Premier League beacon of tiki-taka enthusiasm, 18 months ago.
His attitude this season has been equally concerning; instead of being one of the players to make a difference to the Toffees’ troubling form, as his lofty price-tag would initially suggest, Lukaku’s arguably more guilty than most of playing within himself, almost to the point of anonymity. With no speculation over his immediate future, unlike the last few seasons, and subsequently, less pressure to perform, suddenly it feels like the Belgian prodigy isn’t being challenged in quite the same way and struggling for individual motivation.
Lukaku remains a long-term investment that will be depreciated over a number of seasons. And should the 21 year-old emerge as the world-class front-man he’s heralded to become, eventually Everton’s original fee will be reimbursed fully with several more millions slapped on top.
But in the context of this season alone, I believe the Toffees have overspent on Lukaku for one simple reason, shedding some light on the slump in form throughout the squad; having paid £28million for a player they had on loan last year, in addition to the £2million on Gareth Barry, Everton have spent almost the entirety of their summer budget on simply maintaining their squad from the campaign previous. Meanwhile, the rest of the Premier League has moved forward.
Whether Everton are taking an inevitable step back to do the same in the long-run, or if Lukaku isn’t the future world star they he was thought last season, remains to be seen.
