Odds slashed as Lukaku roars into Golden Boot contention

Everton striker Romelu Lukaku ended his goal drought in stunning fashion with an 11-minute hat-trick last night at Sunderland, and the Belgian’s Golden Boot odds have come tumbling down in the process.

Before the quick-fire trio at the Stadium of Light, Lukaku was 22/1 to claim the top goalscorer accolade this season, but now he stands at 10/1.

We highlighted Harry Kane’s claim to the award yesterday, and Everton’s star striker has similarly thrust his name into the hat after ending his 11-game goalless spell.

Lukaku already has more goals to his name 23 years of age than Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez, Wayne Rooney or Zlatan Ibrahimovic, and is sure to only get better and better in seasons to come.

The Toffees will have been delighted that they held on to their prize asset this summer, and who’s to say that a strong run in the top six won’t persuade Lukaku to commit long-term?

The former Chelsea man bagged a personal best 18 goals last term, and with Everton seemingly improving leaps and bounds since Ronald Koeman came in, it could still be a smart move to back the Belgian at his current odds.

Even if he doesn’t quite take the Golden Boot, Lukaku is sure to be a contender throughout the season, having notched 15 with the Toffees in 2013-14 and 17 at West Brom the season before that.

And with no European distractions to be concerned with, the Premier League is Lukaku’s biggest chance to remain on the radar of the continent’s biggest sides.

Everton will be on the box for the second game in succession this weekend when Middlesbrough visit Goodison Park.

The Toffees are one of just four unbeaten sides in the Premier League, and they’re 4/6 to maintain their excellent start to the year with another three-point haul.

Top-tier returnees Boro have only kept one clean sheet so far this season, so how will they cope with a newly revitalised Lukaku on Saturday night?

All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing