£97.5M DOWN THE DRAIN?: LUKAKU “NOT HAPPY” WITH SITUATION AT CHELSEA
Chelsea striker Romelu Lukaku has been making headlines in the media lately, and not in a good way. The Belgian international recently sat down in an interview with Sky in Italy, in which he revealed that he was “not happy” with his situation at Chelsea. In the 29-minute interview recorded in early December 2021, the 28-year old criticized Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel’s system and entertained the prospect of returning to Inter Milan while he is still playing at a “good enough level.”
“Physically I’m doing great. I’m just not very happy with the situation, but that’s normal,” Lukaku said. “I think the boss has decided to play a different formation but I have to stick at it and get on with it professionally. I’m not happy with the situation but it’s my job and I mustn’t give up.”
The former Everton and Manchester United striker only joined the Blues back in August –for a record £97.5m- and has registered seven goals in 18 appearances, with his playing time limited due to an ankle injury sustained back in October in a Champions League group game against Swedish side Malmo.
Romelu Lukaku has always been a prolific goal scorer and one of the best finishers in the business as his stellar performance at Villa Park for 45 minutes on Sunday proved once more. Lukaku came on at halftime and scored the equalizing goal and created a chance for the third albeit against medical advice. Thomas Tuchel was sure to voice his concerns over whether that would impact the big striker’s return to full fitness.
“He [Lukaku] had a very good performance,” said the Chelsea boss. “He was very helpful, but it’s not fair. He’s not ready for that even if he wants it. We just put the players in but we don’t know [what the impact is]. He was a game-changer today.”
Lukaku expressed open interest in returning to the fashion capital of the world and suiting up for the Nerazzuri once again, apologizing to the fans for the way he left the club.
“Now is the right time to talk about it and tell people what happened, without saying anything bad about anyone, because I’m not like that,” he said. “I want to really apologize to the Inter fans because I don’t think I should have left Inter the way I did. I should have spoken to you guys first, especially after everything you did for me, for my family, my mum, my son. I’ll never forget that.”
“I hope from the bottom of my heart to go back to Inter and not at the end of my career but when I’m still at a good enough level to win more trophies.”
Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel was speaking to the media on Friday morning ahead of the huge top-of-the-table showdown between Chelsea and Liverpool at Stamford Bridge. Regarding the situation with Romelu, he said, “We don’t like it, of course, because it brings noise that we don’t need. That is not helpful but on the other side we don’t wanna make more out of it than it actually is. It’s very easy to take lines out of context.”
“We need a calm environment. Focused. And that does not help.”
Asked if Lukaku discussed with him his unhappiness on the role he’s playing (in the team), Tuchel said, “No, not at all. I don’t feel him unhappy. I feel the exact opposite. That’s why it’s a surprise but I’m the wrong person to ask.”
“If there is something, it (will be discussed) behind closed doors for sure. We [Chelsea] are not just here to read the headlines. We can take the time to try to understand what’s going on.”Asked on whether he’ll have a discussion with Lukaku, the German replied, “Yes, we will. We will do it behind closed doors and openly like I think the relationship is and has always been. So, no further comments in public on that.”
-Maher Abucheri
Twitter: @pabloikonyero