But striker hails impact of Lampard and Drogba on early years
ROMELU Lukaku has hailed the impact Chelsea greats Franks Lampard and Didier Drogba have had on his early years as a player.The on-loan Baggies star revealed he used to stay behind after training at Blues to work on his game with the duo.
And it is a habit he intends to continue during his spell at The Hawthorns.
“I am of a young age - I have everything to learn,” said Lukaku, who hopes to be fit for Belgium’s World Cup qualifier with Wales on Friday after missing the 2-0 win over Everton due to an ankle injury.
“I am left-footed but it can get better.
"I can shoot with my right but I want it to be as good as my left foot.
“I want my heading to be like Peter Crouch’s heading.
"I want to do the maximum I can to achieve what I can.
“At Chelsea, I used to stay behind every day with Lamps.
“We would work on finishing - with a competition as to who could finish the most chances.
“This was good fun but also important.
"Along with Drogba too sometimes, we would work on getting stronger in certain situations.
“Making sure we could finish with my left foot, right foot - we would repeat this over and over.
“We would repeat movements of play so that on a Saturday in the game you are better prepared for where the ball will be played or how it will come in, where it will be laid off.
“Lampard and Drogba were two players I spent a lot of time with, along with Malouda and also Anelka.
“They were very important to my development. I also trained on my own. I like to learn from others, ask questions, ask why that is being done, ask why will it help me.
“It’s the only way to improve.”
Lukaku’s style and physique means he has always been compared to former Chelsea hero Drogba.
But the 19-year-old does not intend to live in the Ivorian’s shadow and is determined to make his own name in the game.
“At first it was ok - but I’m bored of it now,” he added.
“It isn’t necessary and I don’t like it now.
“I have my father’s surname, I am Romelu Lukaku - I’m not anybody else. This is my own name and the name I want people to remember.
“Didier and I have a similar playing style but I don’t think he would have wanted to be compared to someone when he was young.
“Every player wants to be their own person, their own personality. I don’t want to be the ‘new anyone’.”