In the end, Romelu Lukaku’s perseverance paid off.
Having crashed earlier efforts against the inside of the post and the underside of the crossbar, the burly Belgian finally grabbed himself a goal late on in Monday’s draw with Crystal Palace, tapping home from close range to level the scores at 1-1 after some good work down the right flank from Gerard Deulofeu.
It was Lukaku's 11th goal of the Premier League season – only Leicester City's Jamie Vardy has found the back of the net more often – and the 50th in his Everton career, which has spanned only 100 games.
A scoring rate of one goal every two games is what centre-forwards across the world aspire to, so for Lukaku to be posting such figures at the age of 22 is extremely impressive.
His record before his initial loan move to Goodison Park in the summer of 2013 was also excellent: although Lukaku failed to score in 15 games for Chelsea, his 41 goals in 98 appearances for Anderlecht and 17 in 38 for West Bromwich Albion were terrific tallies for someone with such a relative lack of experience.
The numbers show that Lukaku is adept at converting chances, but his contribution in general play must be equally pleasing to Everton fans.
It is often said of many young players that they need to bulk up to avoid being knocked off the ball too easily, but the physical side of the game has never come as a problem to the 6ft 3ins frontman.
His touch in tight areas often let him down in the past, though, with the ball frequently bouncing off him and running through to an opponent. Despite his undoubted qualities, question marks remained about Lukaku’s ability to hold up the ball and link the play, vital attributes for lone strikers in the modern game.
It is to Lukaku’s credit, then, that he has vastly improved his close control and work outside the box. Against Palace, for example, he frequently dropped deep in search of space and combined well with the likes of Arouna Kone, Ross Barkley, Deulofeu and Tom Cleverley.
Everton got in behind Palace’s midfield on numerous occasions, with Lukaku heavily involved in intricate and inventive passing moves that featured neat flicks and single-touch lay-offs.
While the skill was rarely utilised against a Palace side that defended deep, Lukaku is now also far more adept at controlling long passes and hanging onto possession until runners arrive in support.
Having worked on and developed some of his weaker points, the frightening thing for Premier League defenders is that Lukaku is fast becoming an all-round striker.
His strength in the air and fantastic scoring record means he is capable of playing as a penalty-box poacher against sides who position their backline close to their own goal.
His combination of pace and power also makes him a threat running in behind, while he has regularly demonstrated this term that he can move deeper in the pitch to connect moves and get involved in the build-up play.
Lukaku’s superb form has inevitably led to discussions about whether Chelsea were premature to let him go in 2014, regardless of the £28 million (Dh155.7m) that was recouped from his sale.
It is interesting to note that other attackers – namely Kevin De Bruyne, Mohamed Salah, Juan Cuadrado – were also not afforded much time before being cast aside by Jose Mourinho.
Chelsea’s loss, though, is Everton’s gain. With Lukaku spearheading the side and just seven points separating them from the top four, Roberto Martinez’s side may challenge for the Champions League places just yet.
Bony trending in the opposite direction
If Lukaku’s reputation has gradually improved throughout 2015, Wilfried Bony’s has steadily got worse.
The Ivory Coast international began the year as one of the Premier League’s hottest marksmen having netted eight times in 18 appearances for Swansea City in the first half of the 2014/15 campaign.
Another goal followed in the 1-1 draw with Queens Park Rangers on New Year's Day, before Manchester City decided to part with an initial £25m to bring the striker to the Etihad Stadium two weeks later.
At that stage, City were just two points behind Chelsea at the top of the Premier League table, with the signing of Bony a move designed to try and tip the title race in the defending champions’ favour.
Things did not work out as planned, however, City ultimately finishing eight points adrift of Jose Mourinho’s men at the summit and Bony restricted to just two top-flight starts.
With Edin Dzeko joining Roma in the summer and Sergio Aguero continuing to be hampered by injury problems, it was always likely that Bony would enjoy more action this term.
But 15 matches in and the 27-year-old forward has done little to suggest he was worth the sizeable outlay in January, even if the deal seemed like good value at the time.
He has found the back of the net only twice in 12 league appearances, and his disappointing display against Stoke City last weekend saw him dropped to the bench for Tuesday’s 4-2 Champions League victory over Borussia Monchengladbach, with winger Raheem Sterling chosen to lead the line in his absence.
Bony did score late on after being introduced in the second half of that game, and is likely to return to the starting XI as City host his former club Swansea on Saturday.
Having impressed throughout his 18-month spell with the Welsh club, Bony now needs to prove that he is good enough for a title-chasing side like City.
sports@thenational.ae
Follow us on Twitter @NatSportUAE
