Petr Cech has backed Romelu Lukaku to deliver for Chelsea next season after a frustrating first year back in the Premier League for the striker.
Lukaku returned to Stamford Bridge last summer in a £97.5million deal and although he finished as the club’s top scorer, it was a campaign the Belgian star will be keen to forget.
An interview given earlier in the season revealed he was “not happy” with how Thomas Tuchel was using him and expressed a desire to one day return to Inter Milan.
As a result Lukaku’s relationship with Tuchel appeared increasingly strained and the striker struggled for consistent starts in the team.
However Cech, Chelsea’s Technical and Performance Advisor, believes it was injury problems that hampered Lukaku’s campaign and that the 29-year-old will find his best form again.
“I personally believe he will have a great season,” Cech said.
“Last season, we’ve seen how strong he can be at the beginning when he came, but unfortunately the long-term injury he sustained in a game against [Aston] Villa slowed everything down and then he had Covid as well.
“We could see towards the end of the season when he was fit and ready to go again how strong he is.
“We had a particular season as a team around Christmas with the Covid issues, he was one of those players affected.
“I have full confidence that he will bounce back, he will have a strong season.”
