Romelu Lukaku might not be a West Bromwich Albion player for more than 36 Premier League games but he has the chance to write his name into club folklore.
The early impressions have certainly been good so far.
Robust, subtle as an ox, with the pace of a sprinter and the strength of a brick wall – you can tell why opposition defenders must wince when the substitute board goes up.
Jamie Carragher was left on his backside on the first occasion he tackled Lukaku.
William Gallas and Jan Vertonghen were battered into submission by Lukaku after being pulled this way and that by Shane Long.
Lukaku pulverised them. He was unfortunate not to score a late goal against them.
Steve Clarke, as a former defender, accepts that Lukaku is the last person any defender wants to see.
And he hopes the striker can continue to make progress during his stay at the club.
Whether he will do so on Saturday, against Everton, remains to be seen.
He was struggling with a knock sustained in Sunday’s training session – forcing him to miss Albion’s game at Yeovil.
But, all being well, the Chelsea striker could well be pushing for a place in Clarke’s starting XI.
“I was a defender myself,” recalls Clarke, who was a right-back for St Mirren, Chelsea and Scotland during his career.
“Maybe you’ve done well for an hour and then they take off a quick one for an even quicker one and you think ‘oh God, no’.
“It happens and it makes a difference.
“He came on at a good time at White Hart Lane. Shane Long had been chasing down the centre-halves and the game was getting late. That made a big difference for us.
“I don’t really want to talk and talk and talk about him. He’s a young lad. We hope to make him a better player.
“He has some great attributes. That’s one of the things that really attracted him to me. He wants to learn and wants to improve.
“It’s not a case of bedding Lukaku in – he’d kill me if I tried to do that.
“My job is to get results utilising the squad as well as I can.”
Lukaku’s maturity – he has had to handle an £18 million transfer fee – has impressed Clarke.
“He came for a very big fee and he handled that well,” added Clarke.
“He understands where he was at Chelsea in terms of being in the team and he just wants to play football.
‘‘He has nothing to prove. He’s young enough to keep making progress.
‘‘It’s about his development. He’s 19. He’s a young boy. There is always hype if you move to a club like Chelsea.”
