5 Promising Chelsea FC Players Let Go By Jose Mourinho
Romelu Lukaku
Lukaku joined Chelsea from Anderlecht for £10million in 2011. After a couple of very impressive seasons with the Belgian side, the then 18-year-old came to Stamford Bridge with a very bright future.
Lukaku made 12 competitive appearances in his first campaign, but he expressed his disappointment with his lack of game time, despite still being a teenager. The striker was then loaned out to West Bromwich Albion and Everton over the next couple of seasons, delivering close to one goal in every other appearance.
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However, his time away was tainted with constant rumours that he was unhappy with his situation at Stamford Bridge, and that he wanted to end his contracted time at Chelsea prematurely.
This worried Blues fans and management, who viewed him as the ready-made replacement for Didier Drogba. His large frame, coupled with speed and athleticism made for a front-man who could develop into a force to be reckoned with in world football, let alone the Premier League.
Unfortunately, his heart was seemingly set on leaving Chelsea and Jose Mourinho accepted Everton’s offer to make him a permanent Toffees player. To be fair to the club, Roberto Martinez did offer an Everton-record fee close to £30million for the Belgian. Furthermore, Lukaku’s disappointing form last time out did go some way to justify the deal on Chelsea’s part.
Nevertheless, this is a 22-year-old with a wealth of top flight experience and nearly 40 national senior team appearances to his name. You can’t help but feel as though Chelsea have missed out.
Next: Ryan Bertrand