Chelsea: Thomas Tuchel gives honest verdict on Lukaku’s slow start

The Chelsea manager says he is not concerned about the recent performances of the Belgian striker.

Chelsea signed Romelu Lukaku from Inter on a £97.5m move in the summer transfer window. However, the striker has not been able to live up to expectations at Stamford Bridge.

The former Inter star scored three goals in his first three appearances this season. However, he has failed to do so in his last eight games amid a tangible decline of form.

Having returned from an injury, Lukaku has played the last four Chelsea games as a substitute.

In a press conference ahead of his side’s match against Everton, Thomas Tuchel spoke about Lukaku’s form.

“We brought him in for consistency but, like it or not, there is adaptation going on – if you play in Italy or England it’s a very, very different game,” Tuchel said (via The Times).

“When he was injured we were playing good, we were scoring, we put the intensity level up. We found other solutions because we had to find solutions, and then it was about fitness.

“He was in training and was protecting himself, not with full trust in the ankle. Even if he would never, ever admit I could see it. You need to be patient. He wants to come back, there’s a fight going on out there every three days and nobody will say, ‘OK we play now with less intensity because Romelu needs it, and we have players who come back from injury.’ Nobody will do this so there is no chance and we have to pay tribute to that.

“If there is a high-intensity game every three days it is very, very hard to come back from injury no matter what your name it. This is the only concern. We are all the time breaking our heads about when these players can come back. In which moment and for how long? With only three changes [substitutes] it makes things very complicated.”

Following their match against Everton, Chelsea will play against Wolves on Sunday. The Blues will then meet Brentford in the Carabao Cup quarter-finals on December 22.