Pushed to one side at Chelsea after his return from a loan at Inter Milan, Romelu Lukaku spent most of the summer waiting for the Blues to agree a deal with the Milan club or Juventus.
In the end, that never came, which is why another loan, this time to AS Roma, was organised late on to get rid of the Belgian for the campaign.
However, despite his prowess in front of goal while playing in Serie A when he has been fully fit, he hasn’t won over everyone, including Paolo Di Canio, who sees the Chelsea loanee as almost something of a relic.
He said: “[Lukaku] is a centre-forward from the 1980s, predisposed at only playing off the shoulder. Thuram is quick, he kicks the ball with his left and his right. He makes effective passes. He doesn’t have the imagination of Edin Dzeko, but in our league, he makes a difference.”
Lukaku had to wait until after the international break to get his debut for his new team away from Chelsea, and he immediately had an impact, scoring a goal in the 7-0 win over Empoli.
His ability to get in behind is what has made him a success of late, showing how impressive he can be when playing for Belgium recently against Estonia, but few would argue he can do much else, compared to a more versatile Thuram, who can create as well as find the back of the net.
