Chelsea striker Romelu Lukaku has been told to “look himself in the mirror” and find a way to work his way back into Thomas Tuchel’s plans after losing his starting spot.
The west London club paid a club-record £97.5million fee to sign Lukaku from Inter Milan after their Champions League triumph, with Thomas Tuchel eyeing a title challenge. Just eight months after his move back to Stamford Bridge, Lukaku’s future looks uncertain after being dropped to the bench by the German tactician.
The Belgian striker has been out of sorts since his return to the first-team and did himself no favours when he agreed to give an ill-advised interview with the Italian media. The 28-year-old revealed he would like to return to Inter Milan and took aim at Tuchel’s tactics, resulting in him being dropped by his manager.
The striker has rarely looked the same ever since, lacking sharpness and confidence in front of goal, and has not scored in the Premier League since December 29. According to former Blues manager Glenn Hoddle, Lukaku must evaluate where he is going wrong in order to get his Chelsea career back on track.
“The missing piece is nothing to do with Tuchel, it’s nothing to do with how Chelsea play. He's got to look himself in the mirror,” he told the Daily Mail. “He’s got to look himself in the mirror and say I’ve got to get the best out of myself.
“He is no way near the player he was since he had that interview. Since he had that injury. I don’t know if he is fit enough. He doesn’t look really lean and fit to me. Maybe he’s worked on the wrong things. He may have worked hard but he may have worked on the wrong things. He might have done too much gym work for instance, but I don’t know. I am not privy to that.
Have Your Say! Should Romelu Lukaku be starting games for Chelsea? Comment below.
Lukaku had started the season in decent form before he was sidelined by an ankle injury sustained in the 4-0 win over Malmo. He scored in his first game for the Blues in a win over Arsenal and followed that with a solo effort against Aston Villa, bagging a total of 12 goals in all competitions this season.
However, Kai Havertz has been Tuchel’s preferred man to lead the line in recent months and the 22-year-old has been impressive, notching four goals in his last four appearances. That is a stark contrast to Lukaku, who has been brought off the bench on several occasions and failed to make an impact, and Hoddle believes he needs to work harder to convince his manager.
“He comes on [to the pitch] and he doesn’t look like a player that is going affect the game to me,” he added. “Your substitutes, when you put them on, you want them to affect the game. You want them to have an impact on the game in a positive way. He doesn’t quite look that way at the moment. He's a bit like, if the ball comes or if someone puts it on my head or if someone gives me a chance I’ll score. But he is not working hard enough to create space or get on the end of things."
