Chelsea will struggle to be competitive in the Champions League, FA Cup and the battle for a place in the top four if Romelu Lukaku cannot find form, Glenn Hoddle has warned.
Kai Havertz has usurped the club record signing following a poor run of form, although the Belgian has also struggled off the bench with all 12 of his goals coming as a starter.
For former Blues hero Hoddle, Thomas Tuchel still has to find a way of getting Lukaku to contribute to the team.
“If Chelsea are going to win the Champions League, FA Cup and get into the top four then Lukaku needs to get himself going,” he is quoted by Goal as saying.
“When you have a substitute like Lukaku, he can affect the game in a different dimension that could be needed on any given day. At the moment, he is coming on and not impacting the game.
“If he looks himself in the mirror, he could say, ‘Right, I am not getting in the team because Kai Havertz is playing so well but every second I am on that pitch I am going to be a threat. I will have good movement and work for chances on goal’.
“Until he does that, then Thomas Tuchel won't pick him.”
Lukaku is set to be on the bench once again when Chelsea host Real Madrid in the Champions League on Wednesday, a clash which Hoddle believes he can have an impact in as a super-sub.
“He could give Chelsea another dimension from the bench,” added Hoddle.
“He could come on for 10 minutes from the bench and get the winner in the first or second leg. That's the way he can get back into the first team starting eleven.
“It's about banging the ball in the back of the net and showing the eagerness to do it on the training field. He can think about a move in the summer when he gets there but at the moment, it is about the present and he has to look himself in the mirror and get the most out of himself.”
