Chelsea Transfer News: Should Chelsea Sign Anderlecht's Romelu Lukaku?

According to Sky Sports, Anderlecht will sell prodigious 18-year-old Romelu Lukaku to Chelsea for £20 million.

Lukaku has quickly become the world’s most promising teenage footballer with his freakish athleticism and uncanny comparisons to Didier Drogba.

Here are eight reasons why Chelsea must and must not sign Lukaku.

Must Sign: Romelu Lukaku Yearns to Play for Chelsea

John Edwards at the Daily Mail reported that Romelu Lukaku’s dream is to play for Chelsea.

He’s taken photographs of himself in a Chelsea shirt, and Tribalfootball.com reported him stating, "The day I sign with Chelsea that will be the only time my parents and I will cry."

Anderlecht isn’t forcing Lukaku to move to Stamford Bridge; he would welcome the move, given it has been his dream to play for Chelsea.

So why doesn’t Chelsea sign one of the promising forwards in the world who will love, bleed and sweat for the club? 

Must Sign: Money Shouldn’t Be an Issue

Considering an out-of-form Fernando Torres was signed for £50 million and a deteriorating Andriy Shevchenko for £30.8 million—don’t tell me owner Roman Abramovich is getting cold feet over the transfer because he believes Lukaku isn’t worth £20 million.

Last season, Abramovich sanctioned the £26 million signing of unpolished, yet dashing defender David Luiz.

Surely Abramovich will meet the £20 million transfer fee Anderlecht wants. It’s definitely a lot more fair than Palermo president Maurizio Zamparini trying to drive Javier Pastore’s transfer fee to £40 million.

Must Sign: Romelu Lukaku Represents the Future for Chelsea

The Sun once quoted former manager José Mourinho stating, "One thing is youth football, one thing is professional football."

Mourinho certainly followed through with that belief as his two UEFA Champions League triumphs were built on the back of seasoned professionals.

The average ages of Porto’s 2003-2004 and Inter Milan’s 2009-2010 starting lineups were 27 and 30, respectively.

The next season—with Vítor Baía, Jorge Costa, Nuno Valente, Costinha, Maniche and Derlei—Porto did not win the Primeira Liga.

All of the aforementioned players (except Baía) were deemed surplus to requirements, and Porto radically changed its transfer policy—one based on youth and potential: Lucho González (24), Lisandro López (22), Hulk (22), Radamel Falcao (23), James Rodríguez (19), Rolando (23) and so on.

Six seasons later, Porto has won five Primeira Liga titles, four Portuguese cups and a UEFA Europa League.

This is what I called the "Mourinho Effect," where the teams he constructs are intended to win now with no long-term future planned.

Look at Inter Milan, who has signed Andrea Ranocchia (23), Luc Castaignos (18), Yuto Nagatomo (24) and Ricardo Álvarez (23).

Right now this Chelsea squad is stagnant, it’s getting older and it has no long-term future planned in sight.

What Chelsea needs to do is sign players who are young, have world-class potential and the determination to succeed. 

At just 18, Romelu Lukaku is so developed that Chelsea must sign him or else regret another club taking the risks in signing him, then watching him become the world's best footballer.

Must Sign: Romelu Lukaku Is a Future FIFA Ballon d'Or Winner

No disrespect to the Belgian Pro League, but the only reason why I watch the league is to follow Romelu Lukaku.

Mark my words, injury withstanding, Lukaku is a bona-fide future FIFA Ballon d'Or winner.

He is a battling ram reminiscent of Didier Drogba, yet Lukaku’s faster and plays with no inhibitions to dive.

So many times I’ve seen Drogba lose the ball because he goes to ground too easily, and the referee waives his pleas for a free kick or in some cases a penalty.

Do you know what Drogba was doing at 18 years old? Playing in the youth team of Le Mans, and he wouldn’t make his professional debut for another two years.

Yes, Chelsea doesn’t need a forward, but you should always sign on world-class potential rather than need.

As Sid Lowe at the Guardian reported, Real Madrid paid the ultimate price when they turned down Ronaldinho’s world-class potential because they believed he was too ugly to be a marketable product.

Must Not Sign: Belgian Pro League Standard of Play Is Not World-Class

Belgium hasn’t qualified for a FIFA World Cup since 2002, not a single Belgian club has won a European trophy since 1983, the  Belgian Pro League is the 13th-best league in Europe and of the past 10 Golden Shoe recipients, only Vincent Kompany has performed well in either the EPL, La Liga or Serie A.

Romelu Lukaku is playing in an inferior football league, so we are overrating him when we are saying he is the next FIFA Ballon d'Or winner or a certain world-class footballer.

Must Not Sign: Forward Conundrum

Romelu Lukaku has to start, so that means bye bye to Didier Drogba, Nicolas Anelka and Salomon Kalou.

Losing three forwards for one forward is mortgaging Chelsea’s future on Lukaku delivering the goods. 

What if he fails? What if he can’t score goals, and what if he turns out to be a monumental bust?

Say Chelsea management decides to be conservative and keep the aforementioned three forwards as a Plan B if Lukaku fails.

Then that would entail a £20 million teenager warming the benches, and that’s called stunting his development as a footballer.

At the end of the day, Chelsea has to ask themselves whether or not they have the balls to pay £20 million for an 18-year-old and centre the team around him.

If they can’t or if they’re not going to give Lukaku the best chance to succeed, then buying him would not only waste Roman Abramovich’s money, but also Lukaku’s potential.

Must Not Sign: André Villas-Boas Has No Intentions of Signing Romelu Lukaku

When pressed on the matter of possibly signing Romelu Lukaku, ESPN soccernet reported manager André Villas-Boas saying, "I don't think we need to. We have plenty of availability in terms of forwards who can play in different positions—with Anelka, with Kalou, Didier, Torres and Sturridge. […]."

If Villas-Boas has no plans on playing Lukaku, then isn’t it bad management to veto the manager?

Look at how José Mourinho treated Andriy Shevchenko, how Rafa Benítez treated Robbie Keane and how Pep Guardiola treated Zlatan Ibrahimović—all three players epically failed.

Must Not Sign: Daniel Sturridge Is a Cheaper, EPL-Ready Option

Then-manager Carlo Ancelotti was made to look like a fool, as his forwards failed to find the back of the net. Having loaned out Daniel Sturridge to the Bolton Wanderers, Sturridge was finding the back of the net with consummate ease.

Sturridge should be given a chance in the starting lineup, and we know he can score in the EPL, so he’s a much cheaper option—not to mention he’s already EPL-ready.

Chelsea may also buy Argentine starlet Javier Pastore, so please read "Javier Pastore Rumours: Manchester United, Chelsea and 5 Other Clubs To Sign Him" to find out more.