Why did Chelsea re-sign Romelu Lukaku?

Thierry Henry has questioned Chelsea’s decision to spend a club-record fee on re-signing the Belgian.

Chelsea’s decision to re-sign Romelu Lukaku was a questionable one given their contrasting styles of play, according to Thierry Henry.

After making just seven touches of the ball in Saturday’s 1-0 win at Crystal Palace, Lukaku was benched on Tuesday as Kai Havertz led the line in Chelsea’s Champions League match against Lille.

The German took just eight minutes to score on route to a 2-0 first-leg win of the Blues’ last-16 tie, with Christian Pulisic also on target.

"For Rom to adapt to how they play, it takes time."

Belgium’s assistant manager Thierry Henry on Romelu Lukaku's time at Chelsea. 🗣 pic.twitter.com/EO1lZiYCGD

— CBS Sports Golazo ⚽️ (@CBSSportsGolazo) February 22, 2022

‘Why did you go and get him?’

Now Henry, who has worked with Lukaku closely as an assistant coach for the Belgian national team, has admitted he had doubts over the striker’s return to Stamford Bridge right from the start.

“Right from the start I raised a question to myself, would he fit into this team?,” said the Arsenal legend on CBS Sport.

“For Rom to adapt to the way Chelsea play, it takes time. It’s not an easy one. Is it normal that he only has seven touches [against Crystal Palace]? No, that’s also not normal, regardless if the coach likes you or not. That shouldn’t happen.

“They need to move forward on that, but it’s a tough one to read. I’ll be honest with you. I don’t know how that happens in 90 minutes. But what’s the solution?

“The solution is for him to find a solution to make sure he can adapt to the way they play. They like to press, to be active, and to change the front three. He likes to stay in the middle, so it makes it very difficult for him to adapt to the situation.

“But again, why did you go and get him?”

Will Lukaku start in the EFL Cup final?

No doubt, Lukaku has a real fight on his hands to make Thomas Tuchel’s starting line-up at Wembley.

Chelsea are the slight underdogs for Sunday’s EFL Cup final against Liverpool. There is not much between them in terms of odds. Depending on how both sides for the rest of this week, on top of any further injury news, this could change.