da prosport bet： The striker has more than 300 goals at club level and is his country's all-time leading goalscorer, yet he is renowned for his poor finishing
da cassino online： During coverage of Euro 2024 on Monday, special guest Giorgio Chiellini was asked about the shock of the tournament so far: Slovakia's stunning 1-0 win over Belgium. Romelu Lukaku was already being widely blamed for his nation's defeat by the usual collection of online trolls and social media banter merchants, with the striker having missed three clear-cut opportunities, as well as having two goals disallowed by VAR – but Chiellini was having none of it.
"I would not see Lukaku as a problem if I were in Belgium," the former Juventus and Italy centre-back insisted. "Others are the problem. Lukaku is the solution." It was a controversial take, but one that demanded respect, given Chiellini's status as a modern-day great who faced Lukaku several times before calling time on his distinguished career.
However, if Lukaku's not a problem, he's certainly got one, as his latest horror-show has done absolutely nothing to boost his hopes of securing a move to a top club before the start of next season. On the contrary, it only reinforced his reputation as a dreadfully wasteful forward.
Getty ImagesRags to riches to reviled
Lukaku is one of the most curious characters and polarising players in football. His rags-to-riches story is both heart-warming and inspirational. A kid raised in abject poverty is now the second-most expensive player of all time in cumulative transfer fees – and yet he is considered both a mercenary and a colossal waste of money by the supporters of several clubs, including Manchester United and Chelsea.
Most Inter fans, meanwhile, just downright despise him, for breaking their hearts not just once – but twice. Lukaku apologised for the first betrayal, but still maintains that he had his reasons for doing so the second time, even though he's yet to actually reveal what they were.
Advertisement(C)GettyImagesLukaku in limbo
What we do know is that Lukaku made a massive mistake in secretly discussing a transfer to Inter's most hated rivals, Juventus, while the Nerazzurri were agreeing terms with Chelsea over his permanent return to San Siro in the summer of 2023.
Not only did he lose an awful lot of friends in Milan (Lukaku stopped taking calls from team-mates when the rumours of his U-turn first began to circulate), his proposed move to Turin eventually because of a bitter fan backlash among Bianconeri supporters.
Consequently, Chelsea were forced to send him out on loan again, this time to Roma, who offered Lukaku the kind of "love" he so often says he needs to thrive – but were never going to be able to justify paying the £37 million ($47m) transfer fee Chelsea are demanding for a 31-year-old centre-forward. The obvious question now is: who will?
GettyReunion with Conte
Lukaku still believes he can score goals at the very highest level – which is why he ruled out a lucrative move to the Middle East last summer. If a Saudi Pro League (SPL) side were to match Chelsea's asking price this summer, though, Lukaku's hand might be forced.
He remains highly regarded in Italy – and not just by Chiellini. Antonio Conte always told Lukaku if he listened to him, he'd become the best No.9 in the world – and he certainly played like an elite-level forward during his two years at Inter with the combustible coach. Therefore, a move to Napoli would make a lot of sense, given Conte has just taken over at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona and is on the lookout for a new No.9 as Victor Osimhen heads for the exit door.
Aurelio De Laurentiis is also reportedly encouraged by the fact that Chelsea are under pressure to sell before the end of the month, in order to balance their books, meaning it might be possible for the Partenopei to land Conte's top target for a reduced fee.
One imagines that Lukaku and his representatives will do whatever they can to make the move happen. He doesn't really have much time left at the top to change his career narrative.
GettyBig-game bottler?
Lukaku has just passed the 300-goal mark at club level, while he's also Belgium's all-time leading scorer – and yet the perception remains that's never been anything more than a flat-back track bully who bottles the biggest games.
"His goal record is fantastic, if you look at his numbers," Jamie Carragher once said on , "but I always feel whenever we've spoken about Lukaku, there's always been a 'but'. Even his record in the Premier League, if you look at the goals, they were never against the biggest teams.
"He's a very good player, but when you're talking about Harry Kane, when you're talking about [Robert] Lewandowski, for me, he's just always been a bit below that."