Stan Collymore has slammed Romelu Lukaku’s decision to voice his unrest at Everton’s faltering Premier League campaign.
Lukaku appears increasingly destined to leave Goodison Park this summer after admitting that he want to play in the Champions League from next season while agent Mino Raiola has claimed that Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain will be in the hunt for the prolific striker.
But writing in his weekly column for the Daily Mirror, Collymore berated the Belgian international’s very public come-and-get-me plea to Europe’s top clubs last week, insisting that any concerns should instead be shared in private with the Blues hierarchy.
He said: “The instant reaction to Lukaku’s comments might easily be that here’s another disloyal Premier League upstart, biting the hand that feeds him after Everton spent £27 million giving him a platform to shine.
“His only mistake was making it public at a sensitive part of the season and it would have been better to voice his concerns to Everton in private.”
Lukaku has enjoyed his best season to date in an Everton shirt, scoring 25 times in a record-breaking season, yet cut an isolated figure in yesterday’s underwhelming defeat at Manchester United.
And Collymore believes that the young Blues forward still has work to do if he’s to reach the top level of the game.
“For me, he doesn’t run with the ball as much as he should. And sometimes I wonder if he’s just too nice because his physique is frightening,” he added.
I’ve noticed, when it’s not going his or the team’s way, he can lose the ball cheaply and his head can go down.
“I don’t want him just to settle for being a nice lad, capable of getting you 20 goals, but never really dining at the top table of world strikers.”