Everton striker Romelu Lukaku has been linked with a host of clubs this summer, but Arsenal certainly hasn’t been one of them.
The Belgian was widely expected to move to Chelsea or Paris Saint-German, but TuttoMercatoWeb are now reporting that Arsene Wenger could make a shock bid for him.
Previously, talk of a deal worth over £60million may well have put the Gunners off, but now that Everton don’t need the money following their takeover, Lukaku could leave for as little as £31million, which would put him much more in Arsenal’s price range.
Chelsea fans are concerned that their team are getting left behind in the transfer window, and this could be yet another example.
If Arsenal can act quickly, they could just prevent Lukaku from heading back to his old club.
So, what would the forward bring to Wenger’s line-up?
There’s always the feeling at Arsenal that they’re just not tough enough to go the distance in the title race, so a little bit of physicality from the robust Belgian wouldn’t go amiss.
However, on the flip side of that, there is a danger he would not fit in with their style of play, as he likes the ball played over the top.
In that sense, it’s hard to see the midfield accommodating him.
On the other hand, he is a natural goalscorer. Given that Olivier Giroud can’t always be relied upon – he went 14 games without scoring last season – Lukaku could be thrown straight in.
The question is what will happen when Danny Welbeck returns to fitness. Lukaku is not the sort of personality who will take kindly to playing second fiddle to anyone, so if he does get his move to Arsenal, you get the feeling Wenger would need to shape his team around him and him alone, not the other way round.
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