Belgium manager Roberto Martinez believes the upcoming summer transfer window could be a huge moment in Romelu Lukaku's career. The Chelsea striker continues to be linked with a move away from Stamford Bridge despite re-signing for the club last summer.
Lukaku hasn't started in the Premier League for the Blues since February, with the form of Kai Havertz keeping the Belgian out of the team. On Friday, Thomas Tuchel was asked about Lukaku's future, but the Chelsea boss was quick to play down speculation that the centre-forward could be leaving.
Tuchel said: "We don’t reflect on it. The situation at the moment is that we cannot talk to players, cannot sell, and cannot buy. At this moment, we don’t need to think about it.
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"These are the players we have and Romelu still plays a big part in our plans. Not the part maybe he wants to play and I totally understand that, but he used his time to disconnect a little bit, had one week of a holiday, and then he was back with us.
"I feel him very motivated, very strong in training, very much involved when we do the games. He is a winner and he will stay a winner and stay important with us.
"He had a good match against Middlesbrough which was a huge boost for all of us and for him personally. And at the moment, there is no space for a bad mood and no space for disappointment. There is simply not. I checked the schedule last week and I knew this was the schedule but once it is in front of you, you see what's coming.
"There are a lot of matches in the decisive weeks of the season. That’s why there is no space now for second thoughts, being distracted or disappointed. We need everybody, every player and that includes Romelu."
Despite Tuchel saying Lukaku is a big part of his plans at Chelsea, the striker was only named on the bench in Saturday's shock defeat to Brentford. This has only added fuel to rumours that the 28-year-old could leave the club.
Now, Lukaku's international manager, Martinez, has given his verdict on the striker's future and the Belgium boss thinks the upcoming summer transfer window could be a huge one for the forward. "I'm not going to judge or assess the condition of any player until after the summer because it is not a normal situation," he said.
"It is still seven months to the World Cup and probably you will go into the details of how a player feels when it gets closer to it than now. But there will be a lot of players who change clubs or are going to feel in a different way in the summer.
"Romelu needs to be assessed on how he feels in September, the same way Eden Hazard does and some others. But he is one of the players for whom the summer could be a big moment for their careers."
