Why £80m Everton superstar is on course to become another Lukaku

Back before David Moyes returned to Everton after the wheels spun off Sean Dyche’s system, fears of relegation had been heightened on Merseyside.

Suddenly, Everton’s long-standing Premier League status did not seem so secure. Abdoulaye Doucoure’s final-day winner against Bournemouth to ensure survival in 2022/23 was a low point, the sugar rush from that relieving moment quickly giving way to the reality of the Goodison Park side’s situation.

To progress to the next level, the Toffees need a prolific talisman in attack, someone who can provide more than moments – moments such as Doucoure’s goal several years back.

Easier said than done, but they need someone like Romelu Lukaku.

Why Lukaku was so special for Everton

Thierno Barry is at it alone in attack for Everton this season. What Moyes would do for someone of Lukaku’s quality to lead the line. The Belgian has scored more goals in the Premier League for the Merseysiders than any other player.

For his football at Goodison Park, Ronald Koeman described as “one of the best strikers in the world“. Lukaku wasn’t just an elite goalscorer, but a monstrous presence in attack.

Sometimes, observers note Lukaku, now 34 years old, as a lumbering forward, but back then, he was fast, ferocious and unforgiving in the danger area, crushing defenders like beetles.

Sadly, the striker was always going to angle for a move away. He wanted to fight for titles, but probably made the wrong career move in signing for Manchester United in a £75m deal. He never recaptured the same form in the Premier League.

Let’s hope Everton’s modern-day Lukaku doesn’t make that same mistake.

Why Everton superstar is the modern-day Lukaku

Barry is Everton’s star man up front, but he’s certainly not the talisman of this team. As can often be the way with a Moyes-led side, that title may lie with a member of the defensive persuasion.

It hasn’t been smooth sailing, but Jarrad Branthwaite has returned to full fitness this season, and after five matches in the Premier League, is starting to look like “one of the best defenders in the country“, as has been suggested by journalist Kevin Fernandes.

Action Images via Reuters/Craig Brough

The 23-year-old is proper centre-half, also blessed with the rarity of a preferred left foot. One of the most combative defenders around, he times his challenges well. In the Premier League this season, the 6 foot 5 player has won 68% of his aerial battles, also averaging 6.2 clearances per game.

Consistency will be key, but there’s no denying that Branthwaite is one of the best when fit and firing on all cylinders. The problem, of course, is that Everton aren’t the only club who know this.

Man United are long-time admirers. They have recently explored an £80m move for the England international. Manchester City have too, but it’s unlikely they will be successful, given their plight.

In that, Branthwaite could become Everton’s new version of Lukaku, leaving the club for a similar figure with a burgeoning reputation as one of the finest in his position. Again, would it be the right career decision for him?

Branthwaite has come a long way, and the reality is that he will eventually angle to leave the Toffees if they fail to match his ambition. To think he joined the club from Carlisle United for just £1m way back when. If Everton were to sell in the coming years, it would go down as one of their best bits of business in many, many years.

Branthwaite has been unfortunate on the fitness front, but there’s no question that he has the potential to become a legend at Everton.

The same could have been said Lukaku, had he remained at Goodison Park. Lukaku chased riches at Old Trafford, but it led him down a meandering, journeyman pathway that maybe, just maybe, hasn’t provided him with the same fulfilment as a longer and more meaningful career with Everton might have done.