Romelu Lukaku was touted as the missing piece of Thomas Tuchel’s jigsaw puzzle when he joined the reigning European Champions last summer, making the club-record transfer return to Stamford Bridge after seven-years away from the club. In an unbelievable campaign the season before with Inter Milan, where he scored 24 goals in 36 Serie A appearances, it hasn’t quite worked out for the Belgian in this one.
Mid-season injury and fitness concerns kept him out of the reckoning for a while before a slow return and lack of minutes impacted his momentum with the Blues. An interview with Sky Italia, where he claimed he was unhappy at the club weeks before it was aired also didn’t help his case.
The 28-year-old has since lost his space to Kai Havertz up front, with Lukaku scoring just five times in the Premier League this season. Discussing the issue surrounding the striker last month, Tuchel said: “Of course, it is not easy at the moment for him [Romelu Lukaku] but he is a member of the team – an important member of the team.
