Roberto Martinez: Romelu Lukaku can become one of the greats

Romelu Lukaku

The decision to send Romelu Lukaku on loan to Everton looks baffling more than ever. The striker scored on his debut for Everton in the 3-2 win over West Ham on Saturday.

Even more than his scoring was his contribution to Everton’s play since he came on as a substitute at half-time. Everton manager Roberto Martinez has now praised the striker by saying that he can go on to become one of the best strikers in the Premier League.

According to the Telegraph, Martinez said: “I’ve worked with him now for the best part of three weeks and he has no weakness.
Chelsea know that Romelu will be looked after, allowed to grow. I’m sure Romelu will be very important for whatever team he plays for in the next 10 or 15 years.”

Lukaku was speaking all the right things ahead of the new season, yet Mourinho played him for a total of 40 minutes before sending him to Everton on a season-long loan deal. Lukaku already proved himself with an impressive loan spell at West Brom, and he should have been given a chance at Chelsea.

Martinez, though, thinks that a loan spell is the right for Lukaku at this stage in his career. Sometimes you have to look at experience and at this stage it’s perfect for both clubs. For a professional footballer, it is not about having the best talent in the world. There have been many players who have possessed incredible talent; our own Gael Kakuta comes to mind.

Carlo Ancelotti once said Kakuta was the best talent he had ever seen at that age. For one reason or the other, Kakuta is now very far away from a first-team place at Chelsea. He is now on loan at Vitesse Arnhem.

Lukaku, meanwhile, is not one to rest on his laurels. Martinez continued, “He speaks six or seven languages. He is someone who looks at games in a very different way, and is like a manager in the way that he looks at movement. I have been very surprised with that side of him.”

It is nice to hear that Lukaku is not only keen on playing regularly, but he is also immensely working on improving his game. Cristiano Ronaldo is probably a big example of how an unpolished diamond can be converted into a 24-carat jewel with hard work and dedication.