Analysing Romelu Lukaku: Strengths and Weaknesses
LUK WHO’S BACK… That is exactly how Chelsea Football Club announced the return of Romelu Lukaku to the club after 7 years. Costing about 115M, Lukaku has huge expectations he must meet and also burdened with the responsibility to score most of the goals in a Chelsea team which although creates a lot, scores comparatively less. He is also expected to fill the Chelsea striker spot, which hasn’t seen much success since Diego Costa. So without any further ado, let’s get into it!!
Introduction
Before we get into analysis, it is important to know what type of player he is. Lukaku is essentially one of the best all-round strikers in the world, somewhat similar to Harry Kane. Neither is he a poacher like Haaland, nor a passing savant like Firmino. The biggest strength of his game is arguably his hold-up play, thus bringing other players into play, something which he has mastered since leaving Manchester United. He is also one of the few players who can actually put their body strength to good use in football. Initially more a central striker, Lukaku for Inter has been more proactive in the right side of the pitch, often dropping deep to bring other players in play with the occasional vertical run.
[NOTE: All data used in the viz has been taken from fbref and consists of forwards who have played at least 15 90's.]
1)Attacking Prowess
Lukaku has established himself one of the best forwards in the world this season, bagging 40 goal contributions (30 goals and 10 assists) in 44 matches for both club and country. He has constantly been a threat to the opponent, making runs, setting up play, holding up, taking shots from both sides of the goal.
He is one of the best attacking players in Europe, ranking 8th for Goals+Assists in the Top 5 Leagues, with quite high expected metrics too.
As we can see from this viz, Lukaku isn’t a one-footed player in the sense he takes most of his shots based on his position. Left-footed shots are taken mostly from the left sides of the pitch and vice versa. However, most of his goals scored come from central areas, irrespective of which foot he uses.
The shots taken by Lukaku are essentially of high quality and are highly effective. However, the average shot distance suggests he isn’t much of a long-shooter, something that could be worked on.
2) Hold-up Play
One of Lukaku’s foremost strengths is his ability of holding up. His ball-control has increased significantly since his time at Manchester United where was quite made fun of for the same. What this hold-up offers is that it brings other players into the game and constantly pose a threat to the opponent’s third due to runs made by the players.
As we can see in this example vs Milan, Lukaku uses his body strength perfectly to keep out the defender. In the meantime, Hakimi makes the perfect run forward. Even if the pass wasn’t successful, the idea here was very clearly visible. It is this aspect of his game that makes him so wanted. At Chelsea, with players like Werner, Havertz and Pulisic making runs, Lukaku may just be the final piece of the puzzle. He can played a false 9, where he can drop deep to initiate play, receiving vertical balls from the midfielders and making runs.
3) Movement
Another important part of his game is his movement. Making false runs, changing directions at the last moment, Lukaku has mastered it all.
Let us consider this clip vs Tunisia for example. The defender anticipated the ball to be played in the front of him with Lukaku going between them. Lukaku sets up him wonderfully for this trap and at the last moment, he moves away from the defender, thus giving him both time and space.
This is the type of movement is exactly what makes him so good.
Another example of his movement here vs Costa Rica. He makes the defender think he is running in front of him but at the last moment, changes his direction to go away from him, thus buying him tons of space. Kudos to Mertens for the delivery too!!
4) Body Strength
Not many players in the world can use their body strength as effectively as Lukaku. It requires a certain technique which Lukaku seems to have mastered, helping him to keep out the defender.
In the Euros match vs Finland, Lukaku uses his arm to block the defender, legs bent, hips out and turns around to free space and voila! The defender has no chance to stop him there.
As in this case vs Sassuolo, Lukaku receives the ball the ball from De Vrij and uses his arm to keep him out, ultimately going on to score.
5) Vertical Runs
One of Lukaku’s signature moves for Inter has been his vertical runs from either side of the pitch, mostly from the right.
For example, in the game vs AC Milan, Lukaku receives the pass from Hakimi down the right, as it has been many a times. Even though his pass was initially unsuccessful, he ultimately gets an assist by passing the ball to Lautaro Martinez after the rebound.
6) Attacking Units — Dribbling, Passing, Carries
Although Lukaku doesn’t dribble as much, the dribbles he normally does are extremely effective.
Lukaku is one the of the most mobile strikers in the box, as can see seen from the “Actions in the Penalty Area” viz. Him paired with Werner and Havertz can be one of the most threatening attacks in Europe, never allowing the opposition to switch off even for once. He has a high number of carries too, mostly coming from the Inter counter-attacks. I expect that number to drop as he joins Chelsea because compared to Inter, Chelsea play a much higher line, focusing primarily on build-up and rarely counter-attacking.
Lukaku is quite an effective passer given his position. His vision too is an important aspect of him game. Compared with his technique, it is a lethal combination. He also a very high progressive pass reception rate, courtesy to players like Brozovic, Hakimi and Barella.
7) Defensive Output
Like every other player, Lukaku also has an Achilles Heel: Defending.
Compared to his positional peers, Lukaku doesn’t press at all, most of it done by Lautaro Martinez, nor does he tackle. Although Lukaku isn’t exactly the hard-working type of striker, he needs to be more involved in the team’s defensive duties, something Tuchel will be sure to appreciate!!
Final Thoughts
There is no doubt that Lukaku is absolutely a world-class player, his 115M price tag quite justifiable too. He has had many ups and downs in his career, quite made fun of, but his time at Inter really silenced his haters as he helped the team to their first Scudetto in 10 years. Now that he moves to Chelsea, I can only see him getting better. He can be played a false 9 in Chelsea’s setup where he can hold-up the play for others to make runs and himself make the occasional run forward too. However, given how much Chelsea focusses much on build-up, I think there may be a little problem for Lukaku as he adjusts to his new team. However, there is no doubt regarding his overall ability that makes him one of the most complete strikers of the modern world.
Tell me your opinions on Lukaku in the comments or in my Twitter, which is always open for discussions, help etc. Hope you liked this article and till I write my next one…
