As the Premier League’s two form strikers of 2015 begin the new year by going head-to-head, Everton manager Roberto Martínez is clear: He would not swap Romelu Lukaku for Harry Kane.
Sunday’s Goodison Park meeting of Lukaku and prolific Tottenham forward Kane is arguably the most intriguing sporting contest of the weekend.
On form, there is little to choose between the two 22-year-olds; both have scored 10 goals in their last nine league appearances, and both are keen to maintain that run as they begin a significant international year.
There is little to choose between Lukaku and Kane (pictured)
Martínez, though, has no doubts about who he wants to lead his attack.
“I wouldn’t swap Rom for anyone,” he said. “If you look at the attacking force that we have this campaign, it’s very, very impressive.”
This has been the season when Lukaku has developed into the striker he always looked as if he could be at Chelsea.
A tally of 17 goals when he spent the 2012-13 season on loan at West Bromwich Albion showed him to be a capable goalscorer, but he rarely played a full 90 minutes for Steve Clarke.
To really cut it in the Premier League, he had to prove that he could develop the stamina to last through the demands of a full season.
Lukaku has finally come of age in the Premier League
That has taken time. Lukaku is now in his third full campaign at Goodison Park, the first of which he spent on loan from Chelsea before making the move permanent in July 2014. At £28 million, he was – and still is – Everton’s record signing.
It was a significant financial outlay, and yet the first few months after Everton bought him were difficult. During the first half of last season, Lukaku managed only six league goals. Martínez has argued that the striker was physically drained after helping Belgium to the quarter-finals at the World Cup in Brazil that summer, but there was also a sense of a psychological block.
Martínez has suggested before that the turning point came right at the end of 2014, when he dropped the striker for a league match at Newcastle.
“At that moment, when he lost his place against Newcastle, there was a mindset change,” the manager said. “He thought, ‘I need to fight for my place,’ rather than, ‘I need to win a game’. From that point on, he became very clear, and now he looks fresh in every game.”
Lukaku cost Everton £28 million
Since then, the transformation has been quite remarkable. Lukaku scored 31 times for his club during 2015, making him the first player to pass the 30-goal mark for Everton in a calendar year since Bob Latchford in 1977.
“He became very consistent since Jan 1 last year,” Martínez said. “Maybe other players have dips, real highs and lows. But in January, he hit a perfect level. It’s not that he’s just in a good moment. He’s been in a good moment for the last 12 months.”
Everton’s worry is less likely to be about whether Lukaku can score, rather than how they can stop Kane.
Martínez’s side have conceded seven goals in their last two matches at Goodison Park, and have the Premier League’s worst home defensive record. Captain Phil Jagielka’s influence makes a huge difference in central defence, but he is not quite ready to return from the knee injury that has kept him out since late October.
Kane could have a field day at Goodison Park, and Martínez knows it. “Harry Kane has got real power and pace,” the Everton manager said.
Roberto Martinez fears the threast posed by Kane (left)
“It makes him a very mobile striker. Normally, you don’t get both together. You get the mobility or goalscoring ability. Rom and Harry can both drop into certain places on the pitch and they’ve got the ability to move the ball and get at defenders. But they both share a clinical goalscoring touch.
“Normally, you either get a striker with a lot of mobility to assist others and open spaces, or one who is first and foremost a goalscorer. To get both in one type of player is quite rare.”
Everton’s 4-3 defeat at home by Stoke on Monday showcased both the best of their attacking talents and the worst of their defending. If they play like that again on Sunday, Lukaku and Kane will have plenty of opportunity to shine.
Martínez said: “The stats don’t lie. We’ve been conceding too many goals for our liking and we need to improve on that. But in the same way, when you assess a defeat, you cannot be blind to the quality of our attacking play. Clearly, Rom is pivotal to that.”
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