Chelsea have completed their third purchase of the summer by snapping up 18-year-old Anderlecht striker Romelu Lukaku for a fee believed to be in the region of 13M. Lukaku, a long-term target of both Chelsea and Real Madrid, had consistently stated that he'd favour a move to Stamford Bridge, and after months of a deal being 'close' terms between the clubs have been agreed, and the striker will join the Blues subject to a medical and resolving personal terms.
Het is jammer dat we Romelu - die door RSCA ontdekt en opgeleid is - moeten laten gaan, maar de transfer is een win-win-situatie voor de speler én de club. De directie maakt zich sterk een goede vervanger te vinden om het gemis zo snel mogelijk op te vangen. We wensen Romelu veel succes met het vervolg van zijn loopbaan.
-Herman van Holsbeeck, RSC Anderlecht general manager. Source: Anderlecht Official Site.
and the Google translate version, since Dutch is not amongst my one languages...
Assuming that the two are mere formalities (considering this is very much a bid the player has invited), Lukaku represents an excellent signing for Chelsea. Built like a tank with surprising speed, he's still a little rough around the edges, but as a teenager he has plenty of time to work out any of the flaws in his game - just keep him away from Salamon Kalou in shooting practice!
I'm pretty stoked about this, and I'd have to imagine most Chelsea fans are pretty pleased too. The club has just snapped up one of the most promising prospects in the world - one who'll count as home-grown, no less - for the price of Yuri Zhirkov's departure. That's a pretty good piece of business.
The club will probably finish up personal terms on Mondayish, so I'd guess that's when we'd get our official introduction. Exciting!
Update: Here's the official announcement...happy dances all around!!!