Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel has fired back after Romelu Lukaku's agent claimed there is a "problem" in the club.
Lukaku scored twice in the 2-2 draw against Wolves on Saturday to put himself top of the Blues' scoring charts with 14 strikes in all competitions. But despite an upturn in form, the cracks that showed from his blockbuster interview with Sky Sport Italia have barely begun to be papered over.
The Belgian, who cost Chelsea a club record £100m less than 12 months ago, openly admitted that he was "not happy" at Stamford Bridge, and even went as far as to question Tuchel's tactical decisions. Lukaku's uncertainty about his situation has been furthered by recent comments from his agent, who even brought up his "love" for Inter Milan.
But Tuchel has responded to the commotion with a pointed message to Lukaku’s agent Federico Pastorello. When asked to comment on the situation, he said: "If he plans to talk with the owner then maybe it's not his plan to talk with me.
"If he gets a meeting, maybe he can talk. It's his right and we will talk to anybody and evaluate the situation of any player including Romelu."
Pastorello admitted Lukaku's future would be clearer in the summer, once the club's new owners are in charge, suggesting there could be movement.
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He said: “For the parameters of the transfer, no one could have expected such a situation. I do not discuss the technical choices, but it is obvious that there was a problem.
“The numbers, however, must be weighted: he is the team’s best scorer, with a low playing time compared to his teammates. The situation must be carefully evaluated, now they have to defend their place in the Champions League, they have the FA Cup final: Romelu is focused on this, we have not talked about anything else.
“So much noise about nothing. He has the club [Inter] in his heart and the fans, he has never hidden it, like his love for Anderlecht where he would like to end his career.
“But we cannot speculate: Chelsea have defined the transfer [sale] of the club, we do not know the interlocutors, let alone if we can hypothesise talks with Inter or Milan. We must wait.”
