Romelu Lukaku should leave Everton, but not for Chelsea

Romelu Lukaku can do better than both Everton and Chelsea

Full credit to Chelsea for realizing the error of their ways and expressing an interest in bringing Everton striker Romelu Lukaku back to Stamford Bridge. The only trouble with that is the fact that the Belgian front man has advanced to a level where he deserves a move to a club better than the Blues.

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In all fairness I hope that Lukaku stays at Everton for years to come. I enjoy watching him play in Roberto Martinez’s offensive system and there’s something fun about the Toffees as they are currently constructed. Unfortunately for fans at Merseyside, their star is going to be the object of massive transfer bids this summer.

Perhaps the new Premier League television deal will be lucrative enough to keep him at Everton, but I rather doubt it. I think it’s much more likely that he secures a big money move away from Martinez’s club this summer.

It’s perfectly understandable that Chelsea would want to bring the Belgian back. They had him prior to Everton, but he and then-manager Jose Mourinho could never get on the same page. After a few loan moves, Lukaku finally got his permanent move to Everton and he’s thrived ever since.

The Sun reports that Chelsea has already inquired as to Lukaku’s availability and was informed that they’d need to pay double the fee they received for him just two years ago. That means Roman Abramovich’s club would need to pony up approximately 56 million pounds to secure a deal. I have no doubt they would pay that price in a second if it meant bringing Lukaku back to Stamford Bridge.

The only question is whether or not a move back to his old club would be the right thing for the player. In my mind, he’s proven that he’s a world-class striker and he can have his pick of the world’s top clubs moving forward. As such, he should look to engineer a move to a club better than Chelsea.

That’s not a shot at the Blues. They are a top Premier League club with the resources to compete for Champions League titles. It’s just at the current time there’s a ton of uncertainty there. Most believe Antonio Conte is set to become their next manager, but does anyone really know for certain? Lukaku would be foolish to move to a team with a first-year manager.

It’s easy to forget that Lukaku is just 22-years-old. He doesn’t need to rush to move away from Everton. He can afford to sit back and be very selective about his career moving forward. He has all the leverage required to make sure that his next move is a no-brainer.