By Ashley Mann
Belgian wonderkid Romelu Lukaku has been stongly tipped to join the Ancelotti revolution at Stamford bridge this Summer, since it emerged that Didier Drogba had called the Anderlecht teenager earlier this week. Drogba told Dutch magazine Voetball,
“Yes, I called him,
“I received his phone number from Vincent Kompany. ‘You should sign for Chelsea,’ I told him.”
What FIFA will make of Drogba’s comments in light of Chelsea’s recently overturned transfer ban, imposed originally due to the ‘tapping up’ of french winger Gael Kakuta, remains to be seen. Any chance of a transfer, however, has seemingly been scuppered by Lukaku’s father Roger, who is also his agent. At least for now.
He has stated that 17 year old Lukaku will stay at the Constant Vanden Stock Stadion until he is 18, by which time he will have completed his final school exams, a stance revealed by Anderlecht’s General Manager Herman Van Holsbeech,
“‘We have a very good relationship with Romelu’s father, and he is as keen as we are for him to finish his schooling here,
“He has another year to go, and that is another reason why we have no intention of selling him this summer. All parties agree it is in his best interests to continue as an Anderlecht player next season.”
A move to Chelsea must have been tempting; Lukaku’s father had reportedly been offered ‘help settling in the area’ and employment, and Lukaku himself the chance of playing alongside his idol Drogba in a title winning side, in addition to a considerable financial package. Lukaku is also known to be a Chelsea fan, having been pictured wearing the clubs strip in the Chelsea conference room.
Nonetheless, it now seems that any transfer will have to wait another 12 months, by which time 6ft 4in Lukaku will have spearheaded Anderlecht’s Champions League campaign and potentially added millions of pounds to an already hefty £10m price tag.
Chelsea fans, would you like to see Lukaku in blue? Will he be the man to replace Didier Drogba? Let us know in the comments.
