Romelu Lukaku is a much-anticipated addition to Jose Mourinho’s squad, with many believing the Belgian can take Roma all the way to the top.
The 30-year-old striker will land in the Italian capital ahead of his move from Chelsea, a €5.8m loan deal with no permanence clause attached. The move was facilitated by the player’s willingness to drop his wages to €7.5m net, showing his desire to work with Mourinho for the third time.
Lukaku initially struggled to show his best whilst on loan with Inter last season but started to finally show his usual abilities in the latter stages of the campaign, ending the term with 14 goals and seven assists across all competitions.
With Lukaku in yellow and red, can Mourinho and Roma finally taste glory in Serie A for the first time in decades?
1 – Filling the void
Following on from Roma’s historic Conference League victory, expectations were high for Mourinho’s squad last season, but they ultimately fell short on all fronts. The team only secured a sixth-place finish in Serie A, seven points behind fourth place Milan, and lost in the Europa League final on penalties to Sevilla.
One of the most pressing concerns for the Giallorossi was their lack of consistent firepower. Tammy Abraham failed to replicate the exploits of his debut season and only managed eight league goals whilst Andrea Belotti failed to live up to expectation, failing to find the back of the net across his 31 league appearances.
Roma produced an expected goals of 57.4 across their 38 Serie A matches but only scored 50, underperforming by -7.4 xG, the third worst in the league after Spezia and Sampdoria. An overreliance on Paulo Dybala was apparent and Abraham’s cruciate ligament injury made it clear that a new striker needed to arrive this summer.
2 – A point to prove
It seems fair to say that Lukaku’s image has taken a hit amongst supporters across Europe following his tumultuous summer, giving him a possibly unmatched source of motivation and fire heading into the new season.
One thing that’ll help Lukaku is his previous history with Mourinho, having already played under the Portuguese coach at both Chelsea and Manchester United. During their season together at the Red Devils in the 2018-19 campaign, the Belgian netted 16 goals, outproducing his xG of 13.2.
He also outdid his xG during his two years under Antonio Conte at Inter, scoring 23 with an xG of 19 in his first season and 24 with an xG of 23 in his second. Even last season, a year wrought with injury and poor form, the 30-year-old scored 10 with an xG of 9.
This bodes incredibly well for Mourinho and Roma. The Giallorossi have already shown that they can produce numerous chances, creating 22.66 shot-creating actions per 90 minutes last season, and Lukaku would seemingly shine with his new teammates like Paulo Dybala and Lorenzo Pellegrini behind him.
3 – Facing the competition
Football is not played in a vacuum. Whilst Roma’s acquisition of Lukaku will undoubtedly make them a serious threat this season, their rivals at the top of the table have also worked hard to bolster their squad this summer, giving Roma tough competition.
Whilst the 30-year-old would guarantee more than just goals, able to help progress play and involve his teammates, it might not be enough for the club to lift their first Scudetto in over two decades, with defending champions Napoli, a Juventus without Europe and the two strengthened Milanese clubs all hungry to taste glory.
Roma will certainly complicate the race for a top four finish, however. With a healthy Dybala beside him, Lukaku could certainly drag his team up the Serie A table and take them back to the Champions League, something that would have crucial ramifications for the future of the Friedkin project.