Romelu Lukaku will demands talks with Thomas Tuchel at the end of the season to clarify his future at Chelsea amid rumours the Belgian could leave Stamford Bridge just one year after signing. Chelsea splashed a club record £97 million on the Inter Milan striker but he has struggled for regular game time since returning to west London.
He came into Tuchel's starting XI for the clash with Wolves on Saturday and found the net twice, only for the Blues to be pegged back in the 2-2 draw. Another big game is on the horizon against Leeds United on Wednesday as Chelsea look to secure their place in the top four, but transfer rumours are not going away.
After the draw with Wolves, the Chelsea manager was asked about the future of Lukaku. Despite doubt also hanging over the futures of Cesar Azpilicueta, N'Golo Kante and Jorginho, Tuchel insisted that the current situation is nothing new.
"Yeah but it's always like this at the end of the season, no?" said Tuchel. "It's not easier that we don't know what is going on the transfer market and what our possibilities in acting and not acting. If you sign for Chelsea and play on this kind of level - part of it is that it is not always easy and not always enjoyable. It's tough, it's tiring, it's draining and that's what you need to accept and it's what we demand from everyone."
Despite a disappointing campaign, Lukaku now stands on his own as Chelsea's top scorer in all competitions, yet that 14 goal tally in 41 appearances will still be a disappointment. Barcelona, Real Madrid and former club Inter Milan have all been rumoured with a summer move for the 28-year-old but thanks to the sanctions currently placed on Roman Abramovich, no negotiations can currently take place.
But transfer expert Fabrizio Romano says that could soon change, with Lukaku eager to discuss his future with Tuchel to ascertain where he stands.
"As of today, there are no negotiations to sign Romelu Lukaku in the summer," Romano wrote in his column for CaughtOffside. "The sanctions have obviously blocked any kind of approach from other clubs, because no one knows what Chelsea will want to do with Romelu: what is the price after spending €115m on him 10 months ago? What would be the conditions for a transfer?
"So far it is too early to think about his future, but certainly Lukaku intends to speak with Thomas Tuchel at the end of the current season to understand the club’s plans as Romelu wants to be a key player for next season.
"It’s a surprise that it’s come to this, but I personally believe it hasn’t worked for him with Chelsea for three reasons: Tuchel’s system tactically isolates him too much from the two-man attack he was used to at Inter with Lautaro Martinez; physically, Lukaku needs to play every game, the work he did with Antonio Conte and his staff made the difference; moreover, the impact of that famous interview in December certainly created a problem that only so many goals will eventually be able to heal."
