Lukaku has proven he deserves a chance at Chelsea

He is powerful, confident, determined, pacy, bullish and a target man. These features woulld naturally make you a 'Chelsea-type striker', all of which you can find in Romelu Lukaku.

Indeed the above sounds like a prologue to another attempt to drum unnecessary beat of superfluous platitudes in praise of the Belgian striker, especially after his hat-trick helped Belgium destroy lowly Luxemburg, and scoring another beauty against Sweden.  Surely not, though performances in those pre-World Cup friendlies were only a continuation of the impressive season he enjoyed on loan at Everton.

There are suggestions Jose Mourinho has no place for him in his Chelsea plans and several clubs including Borussia Dortmund, Tottenham, Atletico and Juventus are, reportedly, considering taking him away from Stamford Bridge. Unsurprisingly, some interesting arguments are already making waves to justify a potential sale of the young striker.

‘Lukaku is no top quality’, is one of such arguments. Certainly, at 21, the former Anderlecht forward is only an ambitious striker who has given a very good account of himself in two seasons in the Premier League, with clear signs of progression in his game.  With a decent record of 32 goals in 66 appearances, Chelsea would have been one of the clubs chasing his services in the summer if he was not on their payroll.

His technical quality has also been called to question, and it was the reason I was hoping to see him play in a more ball-playing side after netting 17 league goals for West Bromwich Albion in the 2012/2013 season. Michael Laudrup was a fan, and wanted him at Swansea before Roberto Martinez took him to Everton.

Martinez was unequivocal in his belief about the Belgian’s quality after winning the race to sign Lukaku on loan last season. “We have seen him develop into a top striker. He had potential at Anderlecht and now you can see he is a really mature boy. He gives you something different. What we are looking at is an outstanding footballer and we are hoping that it will be a perfect marriage.”

Lukaku claimed the top striker spot at the Merseyside, and at times, Martinez played him wide on the right with Steven Naismith up top. He improved on his touches and was devastating on counter-attacks, combining well with Kevin Mirallas and Ross Barkley to destroy Premier League opponents.

Talk of attitude problems is even more ridiculous especially when you consider the fact that he has only been cautioned five times in 78 appearances for club and country in the last two seasons. Lukaku has maintained a level head working with Steve Clarke at West Brom and Martinez at Everton. So calm down, we are not referring to a Balloteli here.

‘It is a different thing playing for Chelsea and Everton’, claim the naysayers. But isn’t it interesting to make such claims without having not trusted a player with opportunities at a club that has endured Fernando Torres’ paucity of productivity for three years?

Chelsea are believed to be close to a deal for Atletico Madrid’s Diego Costa, but Lukaku looks ready to battle for a place at Stamford bridge with a crucial experience of playing in the Premier League.

Lukaku doesn’t possess the eye-catching touches and technique of Sergio Aguero, Wayne Rooney, Luis Suarez or even Daniel Sturridge, but if there is any striker that looks suitable to what Mourinho offered as a system last season, he’s already got one in the big Belgian.

Chelsea’s proposed ‘pro-active’ football wasn’t a design meant for Mourinho (admitted he didn’t agree), and played his usual way last season. He needed the big Branislav Ivanovic to battle the long balls from Cech, and had no Didier Drogba-like striker to pounce on the end of crosses, mainly from the Serbian.

Indeed, Lukaku, like the Blues did last season, can struggle when opponents ‘park the bus’, but his brace against Liverpool in the Merseyside derby at the Goodison Park last season offered some hints he could play do the job, without the spaces behind opposition defenders. He anticipated and finished a fortuitous lose ball with composure, and powered in a brilliant header for his second.

It seems always outrageous to compare upcoming stars to legends, but it is easy to see why the young striker has been compared to Chelsea legend Drogba.  The Ivory Coast striker’s superior hold up play is comparable to none, but watching the Belgian can only remind you of Arsene Wenger’s famous “he doesn’t do a lot” quote about Drogba in November 2009. Yes, not a lot of touches, but lots of goals.

Like Drogba, Lukaku would lose the ball plenty of times with poor touches, but that won’t discourage him from registering his name on the scoresheet even in a generally poor performance. Many times it looks easier to watch both players’ goals than seeing them for 90minutes. Like his hero, the Belgian forward can also poach from few yards from goal, a pure centre forward trait.

Chelsea were hoping to move on from the Drogba-era, but it appeared they have rekindled the need for a new power striker. In Lukaku, they’ve got a bargain for 18million euros. Romelu is not a top player yet, but the Blues should be grateful they already have a quality 21 year old who is aiming to be great.

Mourinho should be eager to play his part in Lukaku’s quest. As the late American editorial cartoonist, Frank Tyger said: “One of the greatest talents of all is the talent to recognise and develop talent in others.”