Joe Cole tips Chelsea FC star to help Blues retain their Champions League title
Joe Cole is tipping Romelu Lukaku to help fire Chelsea FC to the Champions League title this season
Joe Cole reckons that Romelu Lukaku could help Chelsea FC to retain their Champions League title this season following his return to Stamford Bridge.
The 28-year-old striker is settling into life back at Stamford Bridge after having signed for the Blues from Inter Milan in a big-money deal in the summer transfer window.
Lukaku has already hit the ground running following his return to England, with the striker having netted three goals in three Premier League games for Thomas Tuchel’s side.
Chelsea FC are looking to retain their Champions League trophy this season after Tuchel led them to glory over Manchester City in the final back in May.
And former Blues and England star Cole feels that the addition of Lukaku at Stamford Bridge has only served to bolster their hopes of retaining European football’s top trophy.
Speaking in an interview quoted by the Daily Mirror, Cole said: “Before the season, everyone knew Chelsea were in the market for a No.9 – and realistically, there were only five names who were going to cut it.
“You are looking at Lewandowski, Haaland, Mbappe, Ronaldo and Lukaku, all of them in the very top bracket.
“None of them comes cheap because they are the best in the business, but when you break it down, and look at the attributes Chelsea needed, Lukaku was a great piece of business.
“We’re talking about a proven goalscorer, who is 28 and at the peak of his powers. The complete package – pace, power, great in the air, a finisher, the lot.
“Why did he leave Chelsea in the first place? You can have the same conversation about Kevin De Bruyne and Mo Salah, but there’s no mystery about Lukaku coming back to the club.
“When you are the champions of Europe, to defend your title you need the very best players – right here, right now, not next week or next year.
“You can’t be like Tottenham or Arsenal, taking on players at 21 or 22 and looking to develop them over a few years – Chelsea need that firepower now.
“When he looks back at the end of his career, maybe Romelu will accept he wasn’t ready to lead the line for Chelsea eight or nine years ago, and that he needed to make that journey round the houses to release his potential.
“But this is the right time for him to take on the responsibility, and he will give Chelsea that extra four or five percent which could help them win the Champions League again.”
Chelsea FC will take on Tottenham away from home in the Premier League on Sunday afternoon.
