Are we angling for Lukaku?

[Bluepil]

I appreciated it too mate, good post with good points.

We'd all desperately love Lukaku long term and signing him would give our future a massive boost.

Right down the spine of the team from Stones (19) at the back, McCarthy (23) and Barkley (20) in midfield and Lukaku (20) up front, that a hugely impressive young spine to the team in which to build around for years to come.

I think you and the Guardian article could well be uncovering what Martinez is actually thinking. He has the spine of the team beginning to emerge. I think he is now playing a waiting game for the transfer market.

'That's always in his head. I'm sure as a club we have a better chance of attracting players like Rom if we are in the Champions League than not. In my eyes we need to get into the Champions League to attract players like him.'

The players we could attract for reasonable wages whilst in the CL is going to be very different from not being involved. Whilst building a team is RM hedging spending against qualification ? Balancing; do we spend to get there or spend when we get there ? and the Lukaku situation is probably the most obvious example of this process.

 

[Steve Wigan]

I expect a torrent of abuse , understandably, for this, but watching Torres this season, he's got a lot inn his locker and knows how to play the striker role very well. There are so many reasons why it would never happen, money for one, but Torres would be excellent in Martinez' system. He works hard, holds the ball up when required, and gets some goals.
Lets see who's first to post 'You must be joking'

 

[Dutch Toffee]

I expect a torrent of abuse , understandably, for this, but watching Torres this season, he's got a lot inn his locker and knows how to play the striker role very well. There are so many reasons why it would never happen, money for one, but Torres would be excellent in Martinez' system. He works hard, holds the ball up when required, and gets some goals.
Lets see who's first to post 'You must be joking'

Torres??? You must be joking, right?

 

[nigelcoyb]

EFC only angle for Pollocks.

 

[St Domingos 1878]

I liked the fonts!

I would love Lukaku to sign permanently but if he won't then we must still have the cash for another big striker.

We didn't blow the TV cash in the summer, we made cash on the Felllaini / McCarthy and have already raised money this month.

 

[jts73]

If Chelsea are going to sell him then it's likely to be this summer - they might be waiting to see how he performs in the World Cup to see if they can hike up his price. At the start of next season, he'll only have 2 years left on his contract and we've all seen from the Baines articles that journalists like to stir the pot when contracts near the end.

If we get in the CL then we have a chance - Lukaku seems to like it here & he is going to be 1st choice. Can we outbid other CL teams? Unlikely, particularly if his price does go up a bit.

 

[markDee]

If we get CL and Chelsea spend millions on Costa then we should get him, and then put a bid in for Rooney

 

[ScouseBlueBoy]

Criticising the use of fonts and the options available shows a gross lack of intelligence and manners.

 

[Groucho]

As much as I'd love it;

Finish 5th or below - no chance

Finish 4th - tenuous possibility

We are not in the driving seat on this one, everyone knows the manager, players and fans all want him to stay. It's very much down to him and Chelsea.

 

[bluelife]

I hope not, I really don't think he'll be worth the 20 odd million he'll cost and I'd much rather Martinez bring in a £10m striker this window.

 

[TheCount]

Great points, great fonts

 

[meagher94]

Well thought out post, but the only really one decisive factor is:

1. We get CL football.

He's a young lad with ambition who wants to play in the Champions League and rightfully so.

It doesn't mean as much as people say it does that he celebrates passionately. Don't get me wrong that's great to see but any young lad would be ecstatic when they score a goal in the Premier League.

It all hinges on 4th spot.

 

[blue61]

I would be amazed but highly delighted if we signed Lukaku either now or in the summer. It all seems to rest on Champions League qualification in this day and age. As regards where his loyalties are, it will be interesting to see how eager he is to put West Brom to the sword tomorrow night, never mind returning to Chelsea. If he does the 'boing boing' dance in front of the home fans while kissing our badge, I'd say it was very much ON.

 

[zirc]

2 things:

1. Jose isn't the type of manager to develop young players. He likes to buy his players ready to slot in, so maybe he won't want to bother with bringing Lukaku along. Here's hoping they spend big on a striker or 2 now or in the summer.

2. If Chelsea do decide to get rid, I think he will be cheaper than you all expect. This isn't a midtable side trying to get the the highest price from the highest bidder (in which case he'd probably cost upwards of £30 million) They don't need to make a profit so I could see him going for as low as £15m


If there's anyway we can make this happen, we have to do it. In a couple of years he'll be one of the best strikers in the world and we've seen how a world-class striker (RvP last year, Suarez this) can drag a team singlehandedly to success.

 

[blue4eva77]

How massive are your fonts lid?

Just underline them ffs.

Got bigger the more I scrolled down.