Romelu Lukaku’s feud with Napoli could be detrimental to Belgium’s World Cup hopes

Romelu Lukaku’s feud with Napoli could be detrimental to Belgium’s World Cup hopes

It looks like Romelu Lukaku’s days as a Napoli player are set to be over. Disagreements between the club and player appear to have reached a critical point, with the player now unlikely to appear again for the Serie A side this season. This could really be detrimental to any hopes that Belgium has of a successful World Cup campaign.

Lukaku is the nations record top goal scorer and the national team has always struggled to find anyone capable of replacing him. In some ways, not playing competitive football does give Lukaku more time to recover, while also avoiding any risk of another injury. However, Lukaku entered the Qatar World Cup off the back of an injury and looked off the pace, missing chances that he would usually take. It is no coincidence that the Belgian national team failed so spectacularly in Qatar, although others factors were also at play there.

If Lukaku is unable to go, the team will have to look at other options. Atalanta forward Charles De Ketelaere has recently said that he wants to step up and try and replace Lukaku’s goals. The side also have Leandro Trossard, who has played as a striker for the national team before, although without much success. Replacing Lukaku’s goals and physicality is something that Belgium will struggle to do.

Rudi Garcia was unable to use Lukaku in recent friendlies against the USA and Mexico, so certainly has an idea of what is possible without a fit version of the striker. Belgium did put five goals past the USA, before drawing 1-1 with Mexico. In any case, a future without Lukaku is fast approaching for the national team and finding the next striker who can lead the line will be important for the Red Devils going forward.

GBeNeFN | Ben Jackson