Chelsea’s pursuit of Romelu Lukaku is being harmed by racism
Romelu Lukaku is clearly good enough for Chelsea
For weeks, I’ve been pained to read stories in the media that claim Romelu Lukaku isn’t good enough to lead Chelsea’s line. At this point, I’m compelled to face the harsh reality about these sorts of reports. The colour of Lukaku’s skin is certainly a significant factor.
I take no pleasure at pointing this out. I prefer to think of football as a global game that unites people from all walks of life. On the pitch players are judged by their contributions to the team, not the colour of their skin.
Unfortunately that isn’t holding true with this transfer saga. Numerous reports have come out claiming that Lukaku isn’t good enough to start at striker for Antonio Conte. In fairness, I’m sure some percentage of these reports are rooted in well-intentioned player evaluation. Sadly, we’ve reached the point where there are too many of these reports to reasonably believe they’re all rooted in football analysis.
I am deliberately not linking any single report in this piece. It’s impossible for me to know what writer is influenced by racism and what report is impartial. That would be an amazing skill to possess, but I just don’t have it.
What I do possess is the ability to look at Lukaku’s contributions impartially. We’re talking about a striker who scored 25 goals in Premier League play last season. That accounted for 42% of Everton’s total tally. Only Jermain Defoe (50%) had a higher percentage of his club’s goals among the top 10 scorers in the league.
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Those are impressive totals for any striker, but especially one who is just 24-years-old. For comparisons sake, his Whoscored.com player rating average of 7.50 bests 28-year-old Diego Costa’s mark from last year as well. Costa’s play was good enough to help Chelsea win the Premier League title.
It’s reasonable to believe there might be another striker better for Chelsea than Lukaku. If you argue that the Blues should purchase Paulo Dybala or Andrea Belotti then I can’t argue with you. That’s a matter of opinion.
However, pundits that make the argument that Lukaku isn’t good enough to play for Chelsea need to take a long hard look at themselves. Some of you may be basing your opinion on his play, but the quantity of the reports make it obvious that some of you are writing your opinions based on the colour of Lukaku’s skin.
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Romelu Lukaku may not be the absolute perfect striker for Chelsea, but he’d still be a great summer addition for the Blues. Purchasing a player who can serve as an upgrade over a Premier League title-winning striker is clearly good business. If you sincerely doubt that, you need to think long and hard about why you aren’t willing to give Lukaku the credit his play has earned.