Thomas Tuchel has insisted Romelu Lukaku does not need to follow Timo Werner's recent resurgence to force his way back into the Chelsea team. Lukaku came on in Sunday's win against Crystal Palace but missed a glorious chance from close range.
Speaking about the £97.5million striker ahead of the Blues' clash with Arsenal on Wednesday, Tuchel has been speaking about the Belgian's situation right now. "I don't think that he needs inspiration. He needs that one moment, that one spark," the Chelsea head coach said.
"I told you that he would normally be a natural starter against Crystal Palace in terms of the amount of minutes Kai Havertz has played now and the amount of physicality he has played with recently. Because of the injury, he lacks the fitness of matches. I don't point the finger at him, but it's just like this. It's a crucial part of the season when you need to have rhythm.
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"If you see the games against Brentford and Real Madrid, you see the effort we had to put in to become a winning team again. Rom should have had a goal against Real Madrid, but he is missing the luck. If he starts, we need all he can do physically, but he is always an option."
Werner has scored three goals in as many matches for Chelsea now as the £48m signing looks to salvage his career at Stamford Bridge. The German also picked up the Man of the Match award in the Blues' FA Cup semi-final win over Palace on Sunday.
Chelsea takes on Arsenal on Wednesday evening in the Premier League, and it could be a chance for Tuchel to throw Lukaku in from the start against the Gunners. The 28-year-old hasn't scored for Chelsea in the Premier League in 2022 - with his last goal in the competition coming in December 2021 against Brighton at Stamford Bridge.
If Lukaku gets the nod on Wednesday, then the striker could help his side take one step closer to cementing a place in the top four. "I'm not sure we don't become second or fourth [this season]," Tuchel said to the media on Tuesday afternoon.
"We will fight hard. We have a crucial four matches coming in a short period of time with Arsenal, West Ham, Man United and Everton. These are crucial matches for us, given the task and what we want to achieve.
"It's a big challenge physically but mentally to dive into the main competition that is the Premier League. It seems like things are pretty safe, but things can change so, so quickly. We want to demand it from the team, and it is challenging for everybody, but at the same time, it's what you sign up for when you sign up for Chelsea."
