Romelu Lukaku is currently one of the best strikers in the world. Since joining Inter, Lukaku has scored 58 goals in 84 total appearances.
At the age of 27, Lukaku is starting to come into his element as he is close to unstoppable on the pitch. The strength, skill and natural ability which Lukaku possesses is impossible for defenders to contain.
Let’s look a bit further into Lukaku’s Inter career so far.
Replacing Mauro –
There were big shoes to fill, as Icardi went to PSG and Inter signed Lukaku from Manchester United. The expectations were high, and a majority of fans were excited as they knew what Lukaku would bring to this Inter side.
For those who weren’t sure of Lukaku’s abilities, they quickly found out. Lukaku would score a goal in each of his first two Inter matches, so there was no better way to start his Inter career.
If we look at a comparison between Icardi’s last two seasons and Lukaku’s first two seasons at Inter it’s pretty interesting.
Icardi – 46 goals from 73 appearances in all competitions. 40 goals from 73 appearances in Serie A.
Lukaku – 58 goals from 84 appearances in all competitions. 41 goals from 61 appearances in Serie A. Please note, there is still 12 matches left in the current Serie A season.
It’s impossible to compare strikers as competitions and teams are different as years go by. However, if we look at the numbers for what they are, Lukaku has exceeded all expectations massively.
Lukaku is the perfect team player, which Icardi never was.
Creation of LuLa –
The attacking partnership of Lukaku and Lautaro is one of the best in world football right now. Not only is Lukaku banging in goals, but he is also a major part in all attacking raids which Inter have.
When Spaletti was the coach, Inter usually only played with one striker up front. Since Conte has taken the reins, we’ve seen the combination of two strikers flourish.
Romelu can also be thanked as we’ve seen Lautaro develop into a much more balanced striker, and both are making each other better. Even the Call of Duty celebrations after scoring shows how happy they are playing together.
If we look back at Inter’s greatest season in recent times which is 2009/10, and compare the strikers from that season in Serie A compared to the current.
Diego Milito – 22 goals, 5 assists.
Samuel Eto’o – 12 goals, 7 assists.
Romelu Lukaku – 18 goals, 8 assists.
Lautaro Martinez – 13 goals, 5 assists.
The future is bright with these two leading the line, so only upward from here for Inter.
“Unprofessional” –
Before signing with Inter, Lukaku was labelled as “overweight” and “lazy” by critics. This was simply because Lukaku came back 4kgs heavier after the off-season break.
The English media jumped on the back of this, and made Lukaku out to be a scapegoat for Manchester United’s failures. This was absolutely unfair, as Lukaku could only go as well as the team performed as a whole.
As it stands now, Lukaku is proving all his haters wrong as he now looks to be in the best shape of his life. His new found enjoyment of football can be seen, as Romelu is the perfect team player.
The unselfish nature goes along way with both his teammates and also his fans around the world. There is nothing but positive things to say about Lukaku, as he is simply the perfect professional.
