The former England and Manchester United star defender, Rio Ferdinand backs Chelsea incoming striker, Romelu Lukaku to prove Premier League doubters wrong ahead of Stamford Bridge return.
The Belgium international, Lukaku faced criticism after moving to Manchester United from Everton but Rio Ferdinand believes he could transform Chelsea.
The 28-year-old is on the verge of a £97.5m move to Stamford Bridge from Inter Milan, rejoining the club that the Toffees signed the Belgian from in 2014.
His ruthlessness in front of goal saw Lukaku bag 64 goals in 95 games, across two seasons in Italy – but former Manchester United centre-back Rio Ferdinand feels the striker has unfinished business in the Premier League.
Speaking on his FIVE YouTube channel , Ferdinand said he believes those detractors will “fuel” Chelsea’s imminent record-signing ahead of the new season.
“I’ve spoken to him recently and he’s hungry, man. He hasn’t confirmed to me that he’s signing for Chelsea but he just said this season, he’s hungry.
“I just think this guy, a lot of greatness comes through having fuel and what I mean by that is having doubters and wanting to prove them wrong.
“He’s got a whole stadium full at Manchester United who doubted him, all the fanbase at Old Trafford doubted him. A lot of people weren’t too dissatisfied when he left.
“He will be sitting there and looking in the diary to see when that Old Trafford game is and he will want to unload.”
Lukaku spent four seasons at Goodison Park, scoring 87 goals in 166 games across all competitions. In 2017, he became the first player to score 25 league goals for the Blues since Gary Lineker in 1985/86.
However, Ferdinand is expecting the Belgian international to reach those heights once more and has labelled him vital to Chelsea’s title bid.
” Romelu Lukaku guarantees you 20 goals, minimum. He guarantees you that,” Ferdinand said. “He’s scored goals wherever he’s been, he’s an elite goalscorer, it’s as simple as that.
“If he gets the chances that Timo Werner got last year, he bangs 30-35 goals, it’s as simple as that.
“Chelsea have heavy artillery up front now, a real mix of talent, all different types of players, a real good blend.
“Lukaku going there makes them an absolute threat to win the title. They could win it.”
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