The Belgian marksman is reportedly being lined up as a replacement for Harry Kane at N17
Tottenham Hotspur’s search to find a successor Harry Kane has taken something of a surprising twist, amid claims that Ange Postecoglou is pushing to sign Chelsea outcast, Romelu Lukaku this summer. According to Football Transfers, the Spurs boss is keen to sign the 30-year-old on loan amid the prospect of losing Kane to Bayern Munich, with the Belgian hitman seemingly keen to leave Stamford Bridge after spending last season at Inter Milan on a temporary deal.
The report suggests that the Lilywhites would be willing to cough up £300k-per-week in order to sign the one-time Manchester United man – a figure less than what he currently earns – with any deal not set to include an option to buy.
The piece adds that Postecoglou feels the 6 foot 3 ace – who made his return to west London on a £97.5m deal back in the summer of 2021- is the ‘right profile’ to replace Kane as his leading option through the middle, with Lukaku’s prior Premier League experience set to help reduce the period of adaptation.
If the north Londoners were instead to pursue a permanent move, prior reports have indicated that the Antwerp native could command a fee of around £38m, albeit with CIES Football Observatory valuing him at closer to €20m (£17m).
How good is Romelu Lukaku?
That shock interest in the 108-cap international may well spark some nerves among those of a Tottenham persuasion, with it fair to say that Lukaku has not enjoyed the best time of late at his parent club.
Having sealed his costly Chelsea homecoming roughly two years ago, the experienced striker went on to score just eight league goals during that 2021/22 campaign, having been somewhat cast aside by then-boss Thomas Tuchel following a controversial interview with Sky Italia midway through the season.
After making his return to Inter last summer, the polarising asset registered a respectable haul of ten Serie A goals, albeit with five of those strikes having come in the final five games of what was an injury-hit season.
For all those recent woes, however, Lukaku – who has been hailed as a “bull” by Italian icon Christian Vieri due to his physical strength – remains a standout centre-forward option as he boasts a tally of 121 goals in just 278 Premier League games to date, while he is also the all-time top scorer for his country with 75 international goals.
The prolific asset also shone during his first stint at San Siro working under ex-Spurs boss, Antonio Conte, having scored a mammoth 47 league goals across the 2019/20 and 2020/21 seasons while the Italian was at the helm.
Having been lauded as “one of the best strikers in the world” by Conte back in July 2021, Lukaku is clearly a figure that the experienced coach would have loved to have had on the books during his time at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, with reports in Italy stating in January 2022 that the player himself was pushing for a reunion.
That was followed by further links with the forward earlier this year – prior to Conte’s dismissal – with the Belgian brute likely to have been hoping to recapture the type of form that he showcased while working under the 54-year-old in Italy.
While clearly a firm favourite of the enigmatic, one-time Chelsea coach, it remains to be seen whether Lukaku would also be a suitable option to spearhead a new era under Postecoglou in north London.
Faced with the task of replacing Kane – who has 213 Premier League goals under his belt – however, there may be few more ready-made options than that of the one-time Anderlecht man.
