Chelsea’s Rumoured Romelu Lukaku Interest Shows Holes in Blues’ Transfer Policy

If Chelsea value Romelu Lukaku at £68 million, it begs the question of why the club ever sold him to Everton in the first place.

It was just two seasons ago that the Belgian made a loan move to Goodison Park permanent with what we believed to be a healthy £28 million transfer. But now Chelsea are trying to cover up their mistake by buying him back for more than double that price.

It beggars belief.

According to the Evening Standard, Lukaku is now braced to force through his move back to west London by handing in a transfer request as Chelsea and Everton haggle over the finer points of a potential deal. The Toffees are reportedly demanding £75 million for the front man, while Chelsea value Lukaku slightly less at £67 million.

Regardless of the different views in the price, it’s an obscene amount of money. What Chelsea are faced with now is smashing the British transfer record for a player they once called their own.

It didn’t have to be this way. Indeed, it shouldn’t have been this way.

Lukaku was signed for a mere £15 million in 2011 when Andre Villas-Boas was manager. We say mere as his value has inflated beyond all recognition since that time, potentially making him one of the world’s most expensive strikers should he rejoin the Blues.

That initial fee Chelsea paid Anderlecht is looking like daylight robbery; the Belgians must be kicking themselves given the figures being quoted for Lukaku now.

Back then he was a raw 18-year-old, and what Chelsea were paying for was potential. Now it seems that potential should have come at a much higher premium.

Time to write a new chapter….. pic.twitter.com/1XNjbYXsl4

— R.Lukaku Bolingoli10 (@RomeluLukaku9) July 30, 2014

If Chelsea were getting a bargain five years ago, though, they’ve shot themselves in the foot since. Successive managers didn’t give him enough of a chance, and it’s Everton who are reaping the benefits whether he is sold or not.

Should Lukaku stay at Goodison, Ronald Koeman has a deadly striker to lead the line; should he leave, the club are going to be handsomely rewarded.

While we can quibble over the price Chelsea are looking to pay for the 23-year-old, more pertinent is the question of why and how Chelsea allowed him to leave in the first place. Bringing Lukaku back for more than the £28 million they sold him for raises big doubts about the club’s transfer policy.

Lukaku’s departure was a result of Diego Costa’s arrival from Atletico Madrid shortly ahead of the 2014 World Cup. The Spain international’s …

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