Thomas Tuchel has given his verdict on Romelu Lukaku’s Chelsea future, saying the Belgian forward is an “important” player at Stamford Bridge.
According to Fabrizio Romano, Tuchel commented: “I want Romelu Lukaku to be an important part of the squad. Right now, he is a very important part of the squad next season. There are no players about to leave because it is simply not possible… We need to support Lukaku and trust what we do”.
With Chelsea still dealing with government sanctions, it seems that boss Thomas Tuchel is resigned to making the most of his current squad.
Thomas Tuchel Makes Romelu Lukaku Transfer Claim
Hitting The Ground Running
Romelu Lukaku returned to Chelsea from Inter Milan with a massive weight on his shoulders. With a reported price tag of £97.5 million, big things were expected from the Belgian striker. He had some early success for the club, even scoring the winning goal in a tight game against Zenit in the Champion’s League. However, it didn’t take long for things to come apart.
Goal Drought & Tension
In December Romelu Lukaku caused controversy with comments made to the media about not being happy with the situation at Chelsea. Lukaku was subsequently dropped from the squad before smoothing things over. Despite making good with the club Lukaku has not been delivering on the pitch whatsoever. In 40 appearances for the team this season, he has only scored 12 goals, and only five of those have come in the Premier League.
With such a hefty price tag it just isn’t good enough for Lukaku to have fewer goals scored than Kai Havertz and the same amount as Mason Mount. Lukaku hasn’t even made up for it with link-up play as he has yet to register an assist all season.
While fans may be unhappy with Lukaku’s output, Thomas Tuchel seems happy to work around Lukaku’s weaknesses and keep him as a key part of the squad. How much of that is true and how much is just Tuchel knowing the club won’t get much business done with current sanctions remains to be seen.
Main Photo
