Published: August 16, 2021 10:42 pm
Last Updated: August 16, 2021 10:42 pm
New Chelsea signing Romelu Lukaku has, on Monday, confirmed that he advised teammate Kai Havertz to make the move to Stamford Bridge, during a Europa League clash last year.
Blues return
The name of Belgian hitman Lukaku has of course taken centre stage in West London over the course of the last fortnight.
This comes with Chelsea, on the back of a campaign which saw the club’s attackers largely toil in front of goal, having swooped to bring their former striker back to the club.
Lukaku spent three years on the books of the Blues during the early years of his career, before ultimately being deemed surplus to requirements.
On the back of arguably the two finest seasons of his career at club level with Inter Milan, though, those in a position of power at Stamford Bridge this summer came to the conclusion that the 28-year-old now boasts all of the required attributes to spearhead Thomas Tuchel’s frontline.
In turn, with Inter amid something of a financial crisis, Chelsea made their move.
STADIO GIUSEPPE MEAZZA, MILANO, ITALY – 2019/08/26: Romelu Lukaku of FC Internazionale celebrate after scoring a goal during the Serie A match between FC Internazionale and Us Lecce. Fc Internazionale wins 4-0 over Us Lecce. (Photo by Marco Canoniero/LightRocket via Getty Images)
And, last Thursday, such efforts bore fruit.
In a series of posts across the club’s social media platforms, Chelsea confirmed Lukaku’s signing, with the ex-Everton man having put pen to paper on a 5-year contract.
Welcome home, @RomeluLukaku9. 💙#LukWhosBack pic.twitter.com/P43CAIVqfU
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) August 12, 2021
‘Go to Chelsea’
As outlined above, though, if his latest comments are anything to go by, then Lukaku may in fact have played a key role in not only his own move back to the English capital, but also that of another of Chelsea’s current crop of attackers.
Speaking during his first official interview back at the club on Monday, the Belgian hitman opened up on his efforts to convince Kai Havertz to link up with the Pensioners.
Back in 2020, Lukaku’s Inter and Havertz’s Bayer Leverkusen faced off in the quarter-finals of the Europa League.
The former ultimately emerged victorious, after both of the stars in question found the net amid a hugely entertaining affair.
In turn, on the back of the action coming to a close in Dusseldorf, Lukaku and Havertz came face-to-face, for a post-match chat on the Merkur Spielarena pitch.
And, as revealed by Chelsea’s latest addition, during their brief discussion, he went on to urge the German (heavily linked with a Stamford Bridge switch at the time) to take advantage of the opportunity presented to him:
Romelu Lukaku
“I spoke to Kai Havertz when I played against him in the Europa League, and I told him to go to Chelsea.” – (Chelsea FC) pic.twitter.com/O58s4AFeIy
— Alex Goldberg (@AlexGoldberg_) August 16, 2021
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Premier League table
| # | Team | MP | D | P |
| 1 | Manchester United | 1 | 4 | 3 |
| 2 | Chelsea FC | 1 | 3 | 3 |
| 3 | Liverpool FC | 1 | 3 | 3 |
| 4 | West Ham United | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| 5 | Everton FC | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| 6 | Brentford FC | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| 7 | Watford FC | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| 8 | Brighton & Hove Albion | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| 9 | Leicester City | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| 10 | Tottenham Hotspur | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| 11 | Aston Villa | 1 | -1 | 0 |
| 12 | Burnley FC | 1 | -1 | 0 |
| 13 | Manchester City | 1 | -1 | 0 |
| 14 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 1 | -1 | 0 |
| 15 | Newcastle United | 1 | -2 | 0 |
| 16 | Southampton FC | 1 | -2 | 0 |
| 17 | Arsenal FC | 1 | -2 | 0 |
| 18 | Crystal Palace | 1 | -3 | 0 |
| 19 | Norwich City | 1 | -3 | 0 |
| 20 | Leeds United | 1 | -4 | 0 |
| Player | Team | Goals |
|---|---|---|
| Fernandes, Bruno | Manchester United | 3 |
| Salah, Mohamed | Liverpool FC | 1 |
| Antonio, Michail | West Ham United | 1 |
| Benrahma, Said | West Ham United | 1 |
| Richarlison | Everton FC | 1 |
| Dennis, Emmanuel | Watford FC | 1 |
| Cresswell, Aaron | West Ham United | 1 |
| Alonso, Marcos | Chelsea FC | 1 |
| Doucoure, Abdoulaye | Everton FC | 1 |
| Ayling, Luke | Leeds United | 1 |
| Son, Heung Min | Tottenham Hotspur | 1 |
| Wilson, Callum | Newcastle United | 1 |
| Ings, Danny | Aston Villa | 1 |
| Norgaard, Christian | Brentford FC | 1 |
| Firmino, Roberto | Liverpool FC | 1 |
| Tarkowski, James | Burnley FC | 1 |
| Vardy, Jamie | Leicester City | 1 |
| Fred | Manchester United | 1 |
| McGinn, John | Aston Villa | 1 |
| Maupay, Neal | Brighton & Hove Albion | 1 |
| Player | Team | Red Cards | Yellow Cards |
|---|---|---|---|
| Richarlison | Everton FC | 0 | 1 |
| Doucoure, Abdoulaye | Everton FC | 0 | 1 |
| Tarkowski, James | Burnley FC | 0 | 1 |
| Vardy, Jamie | Leicester City | 0 | 1 |
| Maupay, Neal | Brighton & Hove Albion | 0 | 1 |
| Milner, James | Liverpool FC | 0 | 1 |
| Shelvey, Jonjo | Newcastle United | 0 | 1 |
| Cooper, Liam | Leeds United | 0 | 1 |
| Kucka, Juraj | Watford FC | 0 | 1 |
| Gudmundsson, Johann | Burnley FC | 0 | 1 |
| Marcal, Fernando | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 0 | 1 |
| Moura, Lucas | Tottenham Hotspur | 0 | 1 |
| Grealish, Jack | Manchester City | 0 | 1 |
| Shaw, Luke | Manchester United | 0 | 1 |
| Mings, Tyrone | Aston Villa | 0 | 1 |
| Sema, Ken | Watford FC | 0 | 1 |
| Sanchez, Davinson | Tottenham Hotspur | 0 | 1 |
| Raphinha | Leeds United | 0 | 1 |
| Etebo, Oghenekaro | Watford FC | 0 | 1 |
| Cantwell, Todd | Norwich City | 0 | 1 |
| Player | Team | Assists |
|---|---|---|
| Pogba, Paul | Manchester United | 4 |
| Salah, Mohamed | Liverpool FC | 2 |
| Moder, Jakub | Brighton & Hove Albion | 2 |
| Antonio, Michail | West Ham United | 1 |
| Benrahma, Said | West Ham United | 1 |
| Richarlison | Everton FC | 1 |
| Dennis, Emmanuel | Watford FC | 1 |
| Ritchie, Matt | Newcastle United | 1 |
| Cleverley, Tom | Watford FC | 1 |
| Townsend, Andros | Everton FC | 1 |
| Westwood, Ashley | Burnley FC | 1 |
| Dallas, Stuart | Leeds United | 1 |
| Kovacic, Mateo | Chelsea FC | 1 |
| Lindelof, Victor | Manchester United | 1 |
| Pereira, Ricardo | Leicester City | 1 |
| Saint-Maximin, Allan | Newcastle United | 1 |
| Iwobi, Alex | Everton FC | 1 |
| Bergwijn, Steven | Tottenham Hotspur | 1 |
| Adams, Che | Southampton FC | 1 |
| Bailey, Leon | Aston Villa | 1 |