And 19-year-old striker reveals how Odemwingie is spurring him on
ROMELU Lukaku has revealed Peter Odemwingie is driving him on to beat his club record for 15 goals in a Barclays Premier League season.The on-loan Chelsea striker moved within one of equaling the Nigeria international’s tally with his strike in Saturday’s 3-0 win over Southampton.
And he has four games remaining to overtake him – starting against Wigan on Saturday (ko 3pm).
“I want to score as many goals as possible and I want to break that record,” said Lukaku.
“Peter has been encouraging me to do it since the first day I came here.”
The 19-year-old Belgium international explained how he used to watch Odemwingie playing for Belgian outfit La Louviere and French club Lille when he was a boy.
And he admits he has learnt a lot from him then and during their time together at The Hawthorns.
“I’ve known about Peter since I was very little because he was playing in Belgium and I saw him on TV,” Lukaku added.
“I told him about the goals he scored in Belgium and he said ‘you really know me!’
“He was a good player in Belgium and France and in Belgium, especially in Brussels, we follow the French competition.
“I knew him and knew who he was, and when he came to England I knew he would do some damage here.
“From that day on we kept speaking together about Belgium and stuff.
“Since that first day he has helped me a lot.
“I have a very good connection with him and he is really encouraging me to break his record.
“When I used to watch when I was younger he was exciting to watch because he was doing things other strikers weren’t in Belgium competition.
“I also watched the English league and saw Thierry Henry and Drogba, Adriano in Italy and Shevchenko.
“I watched those skills and he did it sometimes.
“It would be an honour for me and a great moment to beat his record - and he has his part in it as well because he has taught me a lot.”