Darren Bent believes Chelsea striker Romelu Lukaku will score more goals than Cristiano Ronaldo this campaign.
Lukaku returned to Stamford Bridge from Serie A side Inter Milan in a £97.5 million deal last month.
Meanwhile, Ronaldo is set to make his return to football action in England this weekend when Manchester United host Newcastle on Saturday.
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Ronaldo finished five goals ahead of Lukaku to finish as the top scorer in Italy last campaign, but Bent believes the Chelsea forward will come out on top in the Premier League.
‘I think when you look at Chelsea and you look at the goals they get, I think a lot of them will go through Lukaku,’ he told talkSPORT.
‘Where as yes, we know how good Ronaldo is, but Mason Greenwood is going to chip in with some, Bruno Fernandes, Rashford when he comes back, Cavani. See he [Ronaldo] might not even play [all the games], but if Lukaku is fit he’s playing.
‘You look at Lukaku, Chelsea brought him for a purpose in terms of he has to play. That was the missing piece of the jigsaw for me and he’s already 1-0 up [in goals vs Ronaldo], he’s already got a head start.’
Speaking after Lukaku’s debut against Arsenal, Thomas Tuchel explained what he would offer that’s different to any other player he already has in his team.
‘Romelu’s a very smart guy and a very democratic leader,’ he said.
‘I certainly think that nobody likes to play against him, everyone is aware of his physicality and his link-up play and ability to attack the space. He gives another dimension to our game.’
Both Chelsea and the Red devils have started the season with two wins and a draw from their opening three matches as they look to challenge Manchester City for the Premier League title this season.
