Lukaku pressure will be unbearable if he joins Chelsea for £100m

The Blues will face the same difficulties and ridicule next season if they re-sign their former striker in a record-breaking deal from Everton.

Paul Pogba's transfer to Manchester United is a cautionary tale for Romelu Lukaku amid Chelsea return talk and he will have to face football memes, hysteria and harsh criticism upon any bad run of form.

A £100 million asking price has been slapped on Lukaku by Everton as the Belgium international refuses to sign a new deal. Chelsea are interested in signing him, after failing to do so last summer, as they aim to reduce their over-reliance on Diego Costa. They will likely face competition from Manchester United. 

United decided to do a similar deal to that which potentially lies in-store for Lukaku by bringing back their former player Pogba for £89 million in 2016. Pogba's price tag has come under constant scrutiny and ridicule since his transfer away from Juventus, which may have become a factor in his underwhelming performances on the pitch. 

The discussions around Pogba's transfer fee have not only served as a distraction but they have also increased the pressure on the 24-year-old. Any bad performance is not only dissected among rival fans on social media but also by the national and international press, with some appearing to thrive on criticising a newly super-rich footballer. 

Lukaku was sold by Chelsea to Everton for £28 million. Pogba, meanwhile, was lost for free to Antonio Conte's Juventus and their opportunistic transfer policy. This fact will do little to deter the wolves at the door who will be waiting to pounce on any three-game goal drought or bad miss.

For Lukaku, a high price tag will introduce him to this unkind and high-pressure world. He is currently the top man at Everton, a club without the same pressures to succeed that the players at Chelsea face, and he is leading the scoring charts by some distance with 24 goals. 

Costa has already faced heavy criticism, despite being his side's top goal scorer this season after enduring the worst goal drought of his Chelsea career. Lukaku will face far worse, for far less and at a younger age. 

At Everton, the harsh criticism has been limited to his poor performances against Liverpool, having not scored against them since October 2015. He has also failed to score in his last five appearances versus Chelsea and his poor record against big teams in general is a cause for concern.