SCALING NEW HEIGHTS
For someone who had to endure abject poverty during his childhood – so much so that his family often went without electricity for weeks and his mother, Adolphine, was forced to dilute the milk in the fridge to make it go further – Belgium and Internazionale striker Romelu Lukaku has gone on to enjoy remarkable career success.
Over the best part of a decade the 26-year-old has showcased the prodigious, the enduring and the explosive.
Barely 16 years of age when he made his debut for Anderlecht in the spring of 2009; a senior international just 10 months later; 84 caps for his country; a bronze medal at the 2018 World Cup; his country’s most prolific marksman of all-time with 52 goals, reaching that historical milestone at the tender age of 25.
A player of exceptional power, pace and penalty-box instincts, the Antwerp-born son of Congolese parents has also proved an outstanding finisher at club level, registering over 200 goals in almost 450 games for Anderlecht, Chelsea, West Bromwich Albion, Everton, Manchester United and Inter.
Yet, somehow, such achievements have not translated into widespread fan or media appreciation. Mention the name Lukaku and the detractors immediately come running with a string of negatives: poor first touch, bull-in-a-china-shop disposition, wayward positional sense and flat-track bully tendencies, often accused of not delivering against stronger sides.
It does not seem to make sense: a player with so many alleged flaws and yet still a major transfer-market
