Romelu Lukaku

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Romelu Lukaku
0Full Name	Romelu Menama Lukaku
0Date of Birth	13 May 1993
0Place of Birth	Antwerp, Belgium
0Position	Striker
0Chelsea career	2011 – 2014
0Debut	27 August 2011
0Games (goals)	15 (0)
0Other clubs	Anderlecht West Brom (loan) Everton

Romelu Menama Lukaku (born 13 May 1993 in Antwerp, Belgium) is a Belgian international striker who played for Chelsea from 2011 until 2014. He joined the club from Anderlecht in 2011 and most of his time as a Chelsea player was spent on loan, first at West Bromwich Albion and latterly at Everton, whom he joined on a permanent deal in July 2014.

Contents 1 Before Chelsea 2 Chelsea career 3 International 4 Statistics 5 Career honours

Before Chelsea

The son of former Zaire international Roger, Lukaku made his debut for Anderlecht at the age of 16. He went on to score 41 goals in 98 appearances for the club, helping them to the league title in 2010. The young striker's impact led to attention from clubs across Europe, and Chelsea were consistently linked with the teenager, with Lukaku making no secret of the fact that he was a fan of the west London club. The youngster was filmed on a school trip to London for a fly-on-the-wall documentary entitled De school van Lukaku, and the party visited Stamford Bridge. [1] Wearing a Chelsea shirt bearing Didier Drogba's name and number, Lukaku spoke on camera of his desire to play for Chelsea and his love for the club.[2]

On 6 August 2011, Chelsea confirmed that a deal had been agreed with Anderlecht for the young striker, pending a medical and the agreement of personal terms. The transfer was confirmed on 18 August, with Lukaku stating that the move was a "dream come true". The Belgian revealed that he had been following Chelsea from afar since as early as 2000, specifically mentioning a Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink strike against Manchester United at Old Trafford as the moment that he decided to support Chelsea. [3]

Chelsea career

Lukaku made his debut on 27 August 2011, coming on as a subsitute for Fernando Torres in the second half of a 3-1 win against Norwich City. He made his first start for the club in a League Cup tie against Fulham, playing the full 120 minutes as the game went to extra time before the Blues prevailed on penalties. He also started in the next two rounds of the competition, but thereafter his only involvement with the first team prior to the final league game of the season was as a late or unused substitute, though he did appear for the Reserves on several occasions, scoring 7 goals in 9 appearances.

Prior to the 2012-13 season Lukaku joined West Bromwich Albion on a season-long loan, where he would play under former Chelsea player and coach Steve Clarke. [4] Upon the deal being agreed he spoke of his frustration with his first season in west London, having not featured as regularly as he'd hoped. [5] His season at West Brom was a success; a solid first half of the season was followed by a prolific second, the young Belgian scoring 17 goals, all in the Premier League.

Lukaku began the 2013-14 season as part of the Chelsea squad, appearing in three matches as a substitute in August, including the 2014 UEFA Super Cup. A substitute in extra time, he missed the crucial fifth spot-kick in the penalty shoot-out. He subsequently joined Everton on loan on the final day of the summer transfer window. He quickly made an impact at Goodison Park, scoring eight times in fourteen league games by the midway point of the campaign. He finished the season with 16 goals in 33 appearances in all competitions.

On 30 July 2014 Lukaku joined Everton in a permanent move, the Merseyside club agreeing a deal worth a reported £28m for the young forward. [6] A fee in that region represented a considerable profit on the amount that Chelsea had paid for him as an 18-year-old, which is likely to have remained £11m given that add-ons taking it to a potential £18m are unlikely to have been activated. [7]

International

Having represented Belgium's Under-21 side on five occasions, and scoring twice, Lukaku was soon promoted to the senior side. He scored his first international goals in a friendly against Russia in November 2010. By the time he left Chelsea in 2014 he had made 31 appearances for his country, scoring seven goals, including an extra time strike against the USA in the 2014 FIFA World Cup that helped Belgium through to the quarter finals, where they would exit the competition.

Statistics

Reserve team football

Season	Total
	Apps	Goals
2011-12	9	7

First team football

Season	Prem		FA Cup		League Cup		Europe		Other		Total
	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
2011-12	8	0	1	0	3	0	0	0	0	0	12	0
2012-13	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
2013-14	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	3	0
Total	10	0	1	0	3	0	0	0	1	0	15	0

Career honours

Anderlecht

• Belgian Pro League: 2009–10