MY MWANAHABARI REPORTER
Chelsea striker Romelu Lukaku arrived in the English Premier League with a bang – scoring in successive games almost at will.
Since arriving to Chelsea in August, the 28-year-old striker who arrived from Italian side Inter Milan has four goals in nine games this season.
That’s not a bad return for a man who just a few years ago left Chelsea with a clenched face and teeth – angry at his mistreatment.
And now, Lukaku has become the corner stone that the Chelsea builders had rejected.
Hi goal poaching prowess has left many Premier leagues teams shaking in their boots – already even as Chelsea continues its resurgence under new coach Thomas Tuchel.
But did you know that Lukaku dislikes being referred to as a “goal poacher”? Well, now you know it.
“The way I’m built – I’m quite big – everybody thinks I’m a sort of target man: just holding up the ball and being a goal poacher,” Lukaku told UEFA.
He said: “But I’ve never played that way and I hate it. My biggest strength is that I’m dangerous when I’m facing towards the goal, because that’s when I rarely make wrong choices.
I am not a goal poacher
Lukaku sees himself as an all-round striker for Chelsea and Belgium – and not just some goal poacher; a man who only waits to score goals.
Lukaku has scored 50 goals in the 78 league games he has played since joining Inter in 2019, a very good return only matched by five other players in Europe.
Lukaku went on to say: “After I pass the ball, I know where I have to position myself in the box. I can do a bit of everything and in some games when I know there is a lot of space behind the defense, I play differently.”
“The reason I’m so productive [in front of goal] is because I can do a bit of everything.”
“To have reached 100 caps is something you really strive to achieve as a young player,” he said. “I was lucky that I started out at an early age.
“I’m 28 now; nearly 12 years have passed with lots of ups and downs, but as a team, we have always continued to grow.
“In the end, the ultimate goal remains to win and that’s my motivation. Every time I play for the national team, I want to win. And to win a tournament.”