At the heart of many rumors this summer since his departure from Inter, his second stint with the Nerazzurri, Romelu Lukaku finally made a big decision, leaving Chelsea and London for another European capital by joining AS Roma in the form of a paying loan in the amount of 4.8 million euros. The leaders of the Roman club, very active during the last summer transfer window, wanted to find a striker capable of evolving with Paulo Dybala, without counting the new recruits with an offensive vocation, under the leadership of a certain José Mourinho. A choice which is paying off as the solid Belgian striker was not part of Mauricio Pochettino’s plans for the Blues.
After enlisting Leandro Paredes, Renato Sanches, Evan Ndicka, Rasmus Kristensen, Houssem Aouar and Sardar Azmoun, the Giallorossi have therefore offered themselves a new reinforcement of choice for their attack. Despite a first match against AC Milan during which he came on at the end of the game while remaining silent for his first minutes with his new team, Romelu Lukaku was then started in all the matches contested by the Romans. Especially since the Belgian striker did not take long to stand out, scoring at least one goal each time, in all competitions, except against Genoa. A regularity which was also praised by José Mourinho.
A hunger for Lukaku
Last Thursday, the Belgian international (110 caps for 77 goals) once again got the ball rolling to ideally launch AS Roma towards a second victory in as many matches in the Europa League against Servette (4-0), thus scoring in a 13th consecutive meeting in the event, before being replaced to be preserved at the hour mark. “We are very happy to have him here, he is a very important player for us. And then, with the result, we had the opportunity to put it to rest a little, which is important. His physical strength is similar to his mental strength. He has experience and the constant desire to win. He has a positive influence on the team at all levels”, also confided the Special One at a press conference about it. And the Portuguese coach was right since Romelu Lukaku did it again this weekend by scoring a double this time in Cagliari.
Obviously not impacted by the departure rumors concerning José Mourinho which have proliferated in recent days, the former Inter player has once again impressed his coach and his teammates, but also the Italian press, unanimous after this new tour de force , like the Gazzetta dello Sport. “The best. With this double, he makes it to seven goals for the Giallorossi, also demonstrating his physical growth and harmony. Only Batistuta started better., we can indeed read in the pages of the pink paper newspaper. Before the international break, Romelu Lukaku therefore confirmed his return to his best level, if not more, with still the same wolf’s hunger in front of the cages. A good omen for Belgium which must face Austria this Friday then Sweden next Monday, on behalf of qualifying for Euro 2024.
