Former Everton star Gareth Barry has spoken about the possibility of his former club signing former team-mate Romelu Lukaku.
Gareth Barry has backed Everton to re-sign Romelu Lukaku after the striker’s future at Napoli was in doubt.
Lukaku left the Belgium team for friendlies against the USA and Mexico in North America but instead of returning to Napoli for training, he went to his country for treatment.
The Serie A club have said they are considering taking “disciplinary action” against the 32-year-old, who has endured a difficult time professionally and personally.
Lukaku has been restricted to just seven appearances after suffering a serious hamstring injury in the first half of the campaign and suffered the death of his father in September.
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What happens next is unclear, but Barry, who played with the Belgian during his busy four seasons at Everton, would not be against his former club leaving in the summer.
“Romelu Lukaku is back at Everton? Because he played with Romelu, there aren’t many right nine strikers now, and that’s what Romelu is,” said the former England player to BOYLE Sports, which provides the latest football news.
“He just loves to score goals. Everything in training is focused on achieving goals. Even after the training session is over, all he wants to do is train to finish.
“At 32 years old, knowing his form, he will still be hungry to continue playing and scoring goals. So, I would not discourage any team that wants that number nine and someone with experience to think about Romelu.
“Especially after he lost his place at Napoli this season, he will have a point to prove again. Who knows? A good World Cup for him and there may be interested spectators.”
Lukaku scored 87 goals in 166 games for the Blues before making a £75m move to Manchester United.
After spells at Inter, Chelsea and Roma, he spent the last two years at Napoli, helping them win the Serie A title last year.
The day before Napoli’s statement, Lukaku said on social media: “This time has been a lot for me, from dealing with injury and personal loss. I know there has been a lot of noise about my situation in the last few days and it is important to clarify the whole situation.
“The truth is that a few weeks ago I was not feeling well physically and I checked it while I was in Belgium and it showed me that there is swelling and fluid on my hip flexor muscle near my scar tissue. It is the second problem I had since I came back in early November.
“I chose to do rehab in Belgium so that I can help the team when I am called. There is nothing I would like to do more than to play and win with my team. But now I have to make sure that I am 100% because I have not been there recently and it took mental problems.
“It’s been a lot this year. But in the end, I’ll get there and help Napoli and the national team achieve their goals when they’re called. That’s all I want.”
Everton currently have Beto and Thierno Barry as their surprise options.
The latter scored twice as the Blues won 3-0 at home to Chelsea last time out to boost the club’s European qualification hopes.
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