FanPost

Lukaku's alleged arrogance: a fear of failing to actualize his potential?

Many Chelsea fans currently feel betrayed by Lukaku's ostensible arrogance, his alleged lack of competitive spirit, and his willingness to move to a less competitive club to secure more minutes on the field. However, I'd like to attempt to consider the situation from Lukaku's point of view, and to propose a potential explanation for his attitude and his decision.

Lukaku appears to believe he's capable of attaining greatness, and people around him have probably supported that belief from an early point in his career. He is known to obsessively study opposing teams and strikers that he wants to emulate, and is extremely dedicated in training. He probably wants his career to evolve at an extremely quick pace, and having to compete with a prime Costa and preferentially treated Torres is perceived as a serious stumbling block to that development process.

Lukaku isn't afraid of competition that's appropriate to his current level of development - at W. Brom and Everton, he successfully displaced these teams' more experienced strikers, who were getting preferential treatment over him because they were not loanees. At Chelsea, however, the odds are against him - if he were a couple of seasons farther along in his development, he'd be able to compete on fair terms with Costa; however, at present, Lukaku's ability to gain experience and get better is hindered by his lack of experience - a catch 22 situation.

Lukaku has been one of the best strikers in the EPL over the last two seasons, which is extremely impressive, given his age. He's also developing at a very quick rate; when he first came to us, he looked like a player who had hardly ever kicked a ball before. The guy wants to keep improving at that same breakneck speed, and he may believe (probably correctly) that Chelsea isn't the best place to do it. That's understandable.

It has been argued that if Lukaku stays at Chelsea, and if he is willing to compete for minutes, he will get a "sufficient number of minutes." To make that point, it is necessary to qualify what is meant by "a sufficient number of minutes." Although it may mean something else to his critics, to Lukaku, this term probably signifies a number of minutes that would allow his development to proceed as quickly as possible. As upsetting as it may be for Chelsea fans, Lukaku has to do what's best for him, which is not necessarily what's best for his parent club, and the decision may come down to the following considerations:

  • Is his development best facilitated at Chelsea, where he will have tough competition and probably better coaches and mentors than elsewhere, albeit fewer opportunities to play?

  • Is his development best facilitated at a competitive but non-elite club, at which he is heavily favored to start, barring injury, extreme fatigue, or an extreme loss of form?

I believe that the second option, although unfavorable to Chelsea, is personally advantageous to Lukaku, and that he has made a reasonable decision on that basis. This outcome is not particularly pleasant for Chelsea fans, but perhaps instead of condemning the striker for an alleged betrayal of his club, we should commend him for being willing to forgo the status, and perhaps the commensurate financial benefits, of being at an elite club, and instead, opt for the option that is more likely to let him actualize his potential. When he is ready to make the jump to an elite club, he will do so.


It's worth remembering another EPL player, who, several seasons ago, was perceived as extremely talented, but arrogant, imperfect, and perhaps getting ahead of himself, both on and off the pitch. He was a great dribbler, but would often dribble into a dead end, or do too many stepovers and lose the ball. He was a good shooter, but needed improvement. He had good vision for a pass, but was often too selfish. After his breakout '06-'07 season, many of Ronaldo's critics were silenced.

Lukaku seems to have a Suarez-like fear of failure, and a Ronaldo-like dedication to his craft and drive to succeed. Let's cut Lukaku some slack and be more supportive - it may not be that long before he has his breakout season. If his talent is nurtured properly, perhaps he will come back to Chelsea in the future, a much better player than he was when he left, and perhaps he will even end up overshadowing his idol Drogba, to the benefit of the club whose fans scorned him for his youthful impetuousness.

This FanPost was contributed by a member of the community and was not subject to any sort of approval process. It does not necessarily reflect the opinions held by the editors of this site.

In This FanPost

Teams