The Belgian marksman is reportedly being lined up as a replacement for Harry Kane at N17
Tottenham Hotspur’s search to find a successor Harry Kane has taken something of a surprising twist, amid claims that Ange Postecoglou is pushing to sign Chelsea outcast, Romelu Lukaku this summer.
What is Romelu Lukaku’s value?
According to Football Transfers, the Spurs manager is interested to sign the 30-year-old on loan with the possibility of losing Kane to Bayern Munich, with the Belgian striker reportedly keen to leave Stamford Bridge after spending last season on loan at Inter Milan.
According to the report, the Lilywhites would be willing to pay £300,000 per week to sign the former Manchester United star, which is less than what he now earns, with any deal not include an option to buy.
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Postecoglou believes the 6 foot 3 ace, who returned to west London in the summer of 2021 on a £97.5 million deal, is the ‘right profile’ to replace Kane as his leading option through the middle, with Lukaku’s prior Premier League experience set to help reduce the period of adaptation.
If the north Londoners were to seek a permanent deal, previous sources suggested that the Antwerp native might command a cost of roughly £38 million, however CIES Football Observatory values him at closer to €20 million (£17 million).
How good is Romelu Lukaku?
That unexpected interest in the 108-cap international may cause some concern among Tottenham fans, given Lukaku has not had the best of times at his parent club recently.
Following a heated interview with Sky Italia midway through the season, the seasoned striker went on to score just eight league goals throughout the 2021/22 campaign, having been largely put aside by then-boss Thomas Tuchel following a costly Chelsea homecoming nearly two years before.
Following his return to Inter last summer, the polarizing asset scored 10 Serie A goals, although five of those strikes coming in the final five games of an injury-plagued season.
Despite his recent struggles, Lukaku – who has been dubbed a “bull” by Italian legend Christian Vieri due to his physical strength – remains a standout centre-forward option, with 121 goals in 278 Premier League games to date, and he is also the all-time top scorer for his country with 75 international goals.
The prolific forward also shined during his first stay at San Siro under ex-Spurs manager Antonio Conte, scoring a whopping 47 league goals over the 2019/20 and 2020/21 seasons.
Conte lauded Lukaku as “one of the best strikers in the world” back in July 2021, indicating that the experienced coach would have loved to have had on his books during his time at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, with reports in Italy stating in January 2022 that the player himself was pushing for a reunion.
That was followed by other ties with the attacker earlier this year, before to Conte’s sacking, with the Belgian beast likely expecting to recreate the type of form he displayed while working under the 54-year-old in Italy.
While clearly a favorite of the enigmatic, ex-Chelsea manager, it remains to be seen whether Lukaku would be a viable fit to launch a new era in north London under Postecoglou.
When it comes to replacing Kane, who has 213 Premier League goals to his name, there may be few better ready-made possibilities than the former Anderlecht man.