Are Chelsea Genuine Title Contenders Now with The Signing of Lukaku?

You only have look at the impact of Romelu Lukaku on his return to Chelsea in their Premier League match against Arsenal recently to understand the impact he is going to have on the team. 

In the 15th minute of the match, Lukaku received the ball with his back to goal and held off the challenge of the defender comfortably before laying it off to Mateo Kovacic. As the Croatian played the ball wide, Lukaku had already turned and started to accelerate, using his strength to leave the defender in a heap on the floor as he tapped the ball into the net from a few yards out.

In many ways, it was a simple passage of play but something that would not have happened if it were not for the presence of Lukaku in the team. That is why his addition means Chelsea are genuine title contenders this season.

Although Lukaku has been brought into the team primarily to score goals, it quickly became clear how much he has improved as a player since his time with Inter Milan. Lukaku completed all six of his attempted passes in the first half of the game against Arsenal and misplaced just one of his 14 passes in the second half. He held up the ball superbly and gave Chelsea another option when building up attacks from inside their own half of the pitch.

The pure physicality of the Belgian international was enough on its own to unsettle the Arsenal defence and Lukaku is going to be tough to mark in the Premier League this season. Timo Werner was added to the team last season as a player with plenty of pace, who can run in behind and score goals. However, it did not work out and the German international appeared to be suffering from a lack of confidence the more the season went on. Werner is now second choice to Lukaku, who offers something completely different to the team.

Thomas Tuchel spoke about Lukaku after the win over Arsenal and said, “He has some depth in his game, and we can overcome pressing with long balls. If we are close to the box, we can also play into him when there are defenders in his back because he is a very physical player. But we don’t lose our threat on counter-attacks because he likes to run into open spaces.”

In other words, Lukaku can do what Werner was brought in to do but comes with the added bonus of being able to receive long balls and keep possession for his team.

When looking back over Chelsea’s recent Premier League title winning teams, they have featured Didier Drogba and Diego Costa. Lukaku is a player Tuchel can build the team around and that makes them a big threat to the other teams hoping to win the Premier League title this season. Many fans have already had a wager on Chelsea to win the title and if you enjoy having a punt, you must check out Platin Live Casino games. If you have never played live online casino games, you are in for a treat, much like Chelsea fans with the arrival of Lukaku.