The new Drogba? Anderlecht and Belgium teenager Romelu
Lukaku is wanted at Chelsea
Romelu Lukaku is closing in on his dream
move to Stamford Bridge after Chelsea lodged an £18million bid for
the Belgium striker.
Sportsmail revealed
on Saturday that Anderlecht general manager Herman van Holsbeeck
was in London for talks with Chelsea about a fee for a player
dubbed the new Didier Drogba.
The negotiations have led to an offer that should
clear the way for the 18-year-old to fulfil a lifelong
ambition.
Sources close to Anderlecht believe the bid will be
accepted and that Lukaku’s agent Christophe Henrotay will begin
talks over personal terms, which should be a formality, after the
powerfully built star made no secret of his wish to join
Chelsea.
Anderlecht have already planned for Lukaku’s
departure and hope to announce the signing of Liverpool forward
Milan Jovanovic.
Lukaku is set to become Andre Villas-Boas’ second
signing as Chelsea manager following the acquisition of Genk keeper
Thibaut Courtois, who was awaiting permission from the former Porto
coach to fly out to Spain for a season-long loan with Atletico
Madrid.
Lukaku’s capture will raise questions over the
futures of Drogba and Nicolas Anelka, although both seem keen to
stay for another season at least.
Anelka has confirmed he plans to run down the final
year of his contract rather than leave this summer.
It is unclear how Villas-Boas will accommodate all
his strikers given the wealth of talent at his disposal.
Stiff competition: Fernando Torres is just one of
several top-class strikers already on Chelsea's books
Fitting in Anelka, Fernando Torres and
Drogba was a puzzle former manager Carlo Ancelotti was unable to
solve last season, and the signing of Lukaku, as well as the return
to the club of Daniel Sturridge, will increase the competition for
a place in the Chelsea team.
But Anelka, 32, insists: ‘I’m OK with one year,
that’s fine for me. Even if there’s an offer from someone else I
don’t care because I am seeing out my contract at Chelsea. After
that, we’ll see what happens.’
It points to a lucrative free transfer next summer
for a £100,000-a-week striker who has won almost all there is to
win in the game and commanded transfer fees nearing a total of
£90million.
Chelsea might have liked to sell Anelka or Drogba
this summer to recoup cash and buy someone more compatible with
Torres as Villas-Boas reshapes the team.
The new boss has yet to play two strikers in tandem
in a pre-season game but has been looking at it in training ahead
of today’s friendly against the Malaysia All-Stars XI.
The old Drogba: Lukaku's arrival would also put
pressure on veteran Ivory Coast striker Didier (right)
Anelka is more adaptable than Drogba or
Torres. Under Ancelotti, he ended the season as third-choice
striker but was often asked to play wide or deeper, in the hole. At
least he did it without sulking.
‘Maybe 10 years ago that would have been me but
times change and it’s not me now,’ Anelka said with a
smile.
‘When you play all the time, then you stop, it’s
difficult but it is part of the game. When you play for a team like
Chelsea you have to fight for your place. We have a lot of good
strikers.’
Anelka, branded an expensive misfit when he joined
Real Madrid from Arsenal, understands the pressure on Torres, who
has scored only one competitive goal since his club-record £50m
transfer from Liverpool in January.
‘It was difficult in the beginning for him but I
think he looks better,’ said the Frenchman.
‘He’s scored and you will see an improvement this
season. Everybody knows his quality.’
Drogba, 33, is also into the final year of his deal,
although he is open to the idea of signing an extension.
Anelka said: ‘Didier has nothing to prove. He has
scored a lot of goals at Chelsea and he is happy because, if the
club sign a big striker, then he still wants to win and he’s happy
to have someone who can help to bring more trophies.
‘That’s good for Didier, for us, for the fans and
the team.’
