Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel told the enormity of the situation he faces regarding Romelu Lukaku
As per the Express, former Tottenham Hotspur star, Jamie Redknapp has issued a message to Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel, declaring that the German’s ‘biggest challenge’ at Chelsea is his misfiring forward Romelu Lukaku. The Belgian is going through a rough patch of form and struggled to impose himself against Spurs.
Lukaku has failed to get on the scoresheet in recent weeks, despite starting in every game this month and seeing a majority of games through to full-time. The Belgian has lost his scoring touch at Stamford Bridge, despite a promising start to life back in London.
Despite Redknapp’s words of caution, Tuchel said he was more than pleased with what he saw from Lukaku against Spurs, saying the player was reliable in play and put in a huge effort for the team.
“The effort is something we define for us as a benchmark and as a standard. He gave everything in terms of work rate and we notice, this can happen in the Premier League, that you arrive a bit tired in front of goal.”
Although the Blues enjoyed an impressive 2-0 win against Spurs at home last night, the 28-year-old could only impress in small phases of the game. The striker still lacks the sharpness in front of the goal since being reinstated into the starting XI after his controversial Sky Italia interview.
Lukaku returned to Stamford Bridge the previous summer in a club-record transfer from Inter Milan amidst much fanfare. Chelsea opted to splash the cash on him as they believed the Belgian would step up to be the infallible scorer they sought.
However, Lukaku has struggled with confidence in recent weeks, looking shaky against Spurs and spurning several goal-scoring opportunities. Redknapp insists that the striker’s form remains a big issue for Tuchel.
“I think right now, his biggest challenge is probably Lukaku. I think he’s got to get that right because I watched him today and again, there was some moments where he didn’t have the confidence or belief. He’s certainly a player that’s looking for something, a goal or confidence.”
A consistent scorer at Inter Milan, Lukaku is struggling to live up to his price tag and is playing with the weight of the world on his shoulders. He looked bereft of ideas last night and failed to showcase any ingenuity to get the better of the Spurs defenders.
An ill-timed interview mid-season claiming he was unhappy with the manager and wanted to return to Italy saw the striker dropped from the squad and then forced to issue an apology to fans and teammates. Since then, he has looked short on confidence and his form has taken a massive dip.
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Most strikers in the game build up their confidence by scoring goals for their club, and there is no doubt that Lukaku is any different. The forward will continue to get opportunities and it remains to be seen when he can put his poor run of form behind.
Despite the lack of a regular supply of goals from the Belgium international, Tuchel seems to be happy with Lukaku’s efforts in recent games and has backed the striker to come good, despite pundits saying otherwise. We can certainly hope that the German tactician has made the right move in picking Lukaku for games despite the goals drying up from his boots. Hopefully, that faith will pay off.