Romelu Lukaku: Why have Chelsea re-signed the striker they first bought in 2011?

Last update on.From section ChelseaRomelu Lukaku joined Chelsea in 2011, and is nowRomelu Lukaku has seen a lot since his last appearance in a Chelsea shirt at 20 years old.He played for three clubs in 2 countries, costing a total of nearly 300m. He scored 193 goals and became Belgium's top goal scorer.Antonio Conte's Inter Milan won their first title in eleven years with his 24 Serie A goals and 11 assists last season.Why has Chelsea broken their transfer record in order to bring the 28-year old back to Stamford Bridge, however? Is he the man to bring back the Premier League title to the European champions, for the first time since 2017.A world-class striker?Romelu Lukaku scored at least 10 league goals in each of the nine previous seasonsLukaku joined Chelsea in August 2011 from Anderlecht, but only played 15 games before he left for Everton for a club record 28m three year later.He also had successful loan spells at West Brom, Chelsea and the Toffees. Since then, he has played for Manchester United, Inter Milan and Manchester United in moves that cost 75m to 74m.While goals have been frequent throughout his career, Inter's recent Serie A title was the first trophy he had since the 2010 Belgian league against Anderlecht in which he won the golden boot as a sixteen-year-old.Only six players have scored more than 10 league goals in Europe's top five leagues since 2012-13 - Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, Robert Lewandowski and Luis Suarez, Pierre Emerick Aubameyang, Lukaku, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Luis Suarez, Luis Suarez, Luis Suarez and Luis Suarez -Lukaku stated that Euro 2020 will be remembered for its "World Class" status."But it's good form when it comes to you. This motivates me to be more productive and stronger."I belong to that list of world-class athletes."A different Lukaku?Lukaku is a different player than the one who left Old Trafford in two years.Roberto Martinez, Belgium's boss, is uniquely placed to judge him. He signed Everton's frontman and has managed him at international level for five years.Martinez stated in June that Martinez was born with the ability to score goals.But, we are talking about a different player. We're now talking about a player who, in addition to his individual talent and maturity, is a true leader.He's a totally different person and a different footballer. He has the ability to affect others."In Europe's top five leagues, only three players scored more than 20 goals and had more assists than 10 last season: Kane, Lukaku, and Memphis Depay.His 11 assists were four more than his previous best in his first season at United.After leading Inter to the Scudetto, Conte resigned as Inter boss.L'Equipe was told by the former boss of Chelsea: "Romelu has to be one of the greatest strikers in the entire world.""He was always an athlete and had tremendous physical qualities. But, during his two years with us, we saw him improve in terms of teamwork, presence on the pitch and calm in front of the goal."Former Chelsea winger and BBC Sport pundit Pat Nevin said: "The question mark about Lukaku, when Everton and Manchester United were he at Everton, was his work-rate off of the ball and was that as good as it should have?"That was a very reasonable question because Everton had nine men working hard and one man standing there."But I heard many reports about Lukaku at Inter, and have watched him - and it seems he has adapted."Is Lukaku harshly judged in England?Romelu Lukaku is currently the Premier League's fourth-highest goalscorer, despite spending the last two seasons in Italy.Lukaku was the fourth player to score 80 Premier League goals before turning 24, after Robbie Fowler, Michael Owen and Wayne Rooney. These goals were scored by West Brom and Everton. Chelsea did not score.This was after Anderlecht scored 33 top-flight goals, including the Golden Boot in 2009-10 at age 16.Lukaku was one of 11 Manchester United players who scored 25 or more goals in his first season. Eric Cantona (25), Andy Cole (25), and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer (25) were among the strikers that never reached Lukaku's 27 goals in a United campaign.With 113 goals from just seven seasons of regular English football, he is currently the 20th highest Premier League scorer.Chris Sutton, a former Chelsea striker said that Lukaku is a "proven Premier League goalscorer." Chelsea needed that level of reliability and Lukaku will deliver it. They will be able to score many goals from him."James Horncastle, The Athletic's Italian football journalist, told BBC Radio 5 Live's Football Daily that he was back at his absolute peak. I don't believe it is exaggerated to say that he is among the top five world strikers.He took Ronaldo's league and made it his. It is a remarkable feat that no ordinary striker can pull off. He is now the King of Milan, a city he shares alongside Zlatan Ibrahimovic. What is he going to do? Chelsea is a winner.Why do Chelsea need Lukaku?Expected goals vs actual goals of the top seven Club Goals last season. Expected goals Goals compared with xG Manchester City 83 68.91 -14.09 Liverpool 73 60.86 +11.9 West Ham 62 56.72 -4.92 Leicester 68 56.1 +11.9 West Ham 62 56.72 -5.28 Tottenham 68 53.77 ++14.23Chelsea's defensive record was second in the Premier League, with 36 goals conceded compared to Manchester City’s 32. They had the best record, starting with the January replacement of Frank Lampard by Thomas Tuchel.They scored only 13 goals in their 19 final Premier League games, and 16 in 31 of all competitions.Their goal scoring was the problem. Jorginho was their top league goal scorer with seven goals, all penalties. This made him the Blues' top-flight top scorer with seven goals, which was his lowest total since 1974-75.All competitions saw Tammy Abraham (last year's big-money striker signing) and Timo Werner (joint top scorers) with 12.Chelsea scored 58 Premier League goals, 25 less than champions City. Seven teams scored more than Chelsea.The Opta metric, which measures how many goals you should score from your chances, showed that only City and Liverpool were higher than Chelsea's 62.92.Werner's 11.45xG was 15th in the Premier League, but 49 other players scored more than his six goals.Even though Chelsea beat Manchester City every time they met, including in the Champions League final, after Tuchel's appointment, how far can they go with a proven scorer like that?Sutton said: "If there were a criticism about Chelsea last season it was that they weren't ruthless and now they have a man in who is an absolute glutton to score goals."If Kane went to Manchester City, I would like them to win the title. But, if he does not, Lukaku could go to Chelsea to make a difference. They could really nick it, I think."Nevin stated: "The depth Chelsea has in their team is frightening, even before Lukaku arrived."I don't know if he will play every game. This seems strange for a guy who costs that much. I am curious to see if Tuchel has the same style as him. He wants work-rate."But Tuchel also has dealt with Neymar [Kylian] Mbappe, so he is able to deal with big stars and get the best out of them."