On Wednesday, Lukaku completed a record £28M transfer from Chelsea to Everton. He was the Toffees’ main target this summer as coach Roberto Martinez proudly declared:
“He is well worth every single penny and effort we put behind it. He fits perfectly where we are as a football club. We are ambitious, we are too. The target is for him to become one of the best in the world. It means a lot that he has decided to join us. It is a statement of intent.”
“We really needed Rom at the club and the chairman and board have been exceptional. He is going to develop into someone very special.”
Backing his manager’s statement, Lukaku said:
“Last year was a very good year for me and I had the feeling that this was the place for me to grow. Roberto knows football very well. I can develop under him as a player. I want to become one of the best, he will challenge me personally.”
Lukaku’s permanent move to Goodison Park was greeted with disappointment among many Chelsea fans on Twitter.
I'm starting to dislike mourinho First he releases Lukaku and leaves Torres Now Drogba -___-
— Uhuru (@__wait_what) July 31, 2014
Chelsea have sold Sturridge and Lukaku but kept Torres and signed a 36 yo Drogba. Ridiculous.
— Christian (@hollowayroadgzt) July 31, 2014
Shot accuracy of Chelsea Players last season: Torres: 48% Costa: 57% Drogba: 39% and…. Lukaku: 62%
— EFC Stats (@EFCStats) July 30, 2014
Who do we sign now with the Lukaku money because with all due respect, Drogba is good for a few games and Torres is good for no games.
— Franklin (@KAKUfrank) July 31, 2014
I trust Lukaku to score more goals this season than Drogba and Torres combined
— pedro (@pedykruz) July 31, 2014
However, following Chelsea’s 3-1 victory over Vitesse on Wednesday night, Jose Mourinho came out to explain the decision behind waving goodbye to such a promising youngster. According to the ex-Real Madrid boss, Lukaku wanted to be Mourinho’s first-choice striker and “was not highly motivated to come to a competitive situation at Chelsea.”
The ‘Special One’ added:
“After that Everton came with an important offer and as I always say, because it's the reality of our club and we want to do things well and be inside the FFP rules, it's always in the thoughts of the board, when you have the chance to make some movement that create positive impact on FFP we always analyse these situations.
Mourinho is a "Specialist in Transfers"! [Image credit: Daily Mail]
Never mind those disappointed Chelsea fans. Some are not crying at all over Lukaku’s departure
Sold Luiz, Lukaku and Ba for £86m Bought Costa, Fabregas, Luis and Drogba(free) for £75m This is what i call business. #KTBFFH
— Torres Fan Account (@Torres_ID) July 31, 2014
Lukaku thinks he's Drogba but didn't want to compete with Torres and Eto'o and got benched for Origi. Couldn't care less about him.
— Cesc~ (@BlueTweets10) July 30, 2014
“The important thing is that he [Lukaku] is happy and things work well for him. He's a good kid and has his way of thinking and organising his career project,” Mou concluded.
In the end, looking at how he could raised as much as £141M in the last 12 months by selling De Bruyne, Demba Ba, Juan Mata, David Luiz and more recently Lukaku, Jose Mourinho might have proven once again why he is the ‘Special One’.