Ashley Cole has praised Romelu Lukaku’s development since leaving Chelsea, teasing the player over his first touch when he was at the London club and saying ‘no-one respected him’ initially.
The Belgian forward – who won Serie A’s Footballer of the Year award after netting 24 goals and laying on 11 assists last campaign – moved to Chelsea as a teenager from Anderlecht but failed to score in his handful of appearances.
Even though things did not work out for Lukaku at Chelsea, Cole says he is now one of the best strikers – although he needed to work on his first touch.
Asked why Lukaku failed at Chelsea, the former left-back told ITV Sport: ‘He joined as a kid, he joined as a 17-year-old.
‘[He was] a raw talent, his game understanding was not great. Didier Drogba was his kind of father figure who used to help him in terms of developing his technique and understanding of movement.
‘And then I think the two loans really gave him that self belief that he was good enough. Yes, he was still young but he still had a point to prove.
‘I think no one kind of respected him at Chelsea, in terms of the fans. When he did play, was he going to be the top striker for Chelsea? He had Didier Drogba in front of him.
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‘For him to go on loan and prove to himself, he definitely came back with that self-belief, that courage, and now his performances have been second to none, he’s been quality.’
Asked about the criticism Lukaku receives over his first touch, Cole said: ‘Yeah… me at 17 years of age I think my touch was probably a little bit better than his!
‘But you’ve got to understand, he was getting pressure from behind, it’s something he needed to work on and I think he did. Now stuff sticks a little bit better, his link-up play has improved, and in front of goal he’s deadly now.’
