For all of the arguments against him he is a proven, successful, central forward player in the top flight.
Is he though? Genuine question.
Yeah, I'd say so. 8 in 39 for Swansea as a 19 year old. 18 in 47 and 12 in 32 for Chelsea (all competitions, but the ratio for just league games in those seasons is basically the same).
Those are perfectly decent numbers to be considered "proven" and "successful" I'd say.
There are arguments that he might not play ahead of Watkins enough to get those numbers for us, or that his injuries and time abroad might have diminished him, but his record up to now of playing in the Premier League is solid enough.