Romelu Lukaku has claimed to be unhappy with Thomas Tuchel’s system at Chelsea and has opened the door for a possible future return to Inter Milan.
It has barely been six months since Romelu Lukaku arrived back at Chelsea and the striker has stirred the pot amid the club’s ongoing struggles to get a grip on their title challenge. In the middle of the Blues’ faltering title hopes, the Belgian has decided this would be the ‘right time’ to open up his mind on things affecting him.
Lukaku, a £97.5 million signing from Inter Milan, has declared his unhappiness at Chelsea and problems with manager Thomas Tuchel’s system. The striker has been unable to recreate his prolific form from his time in Italy, and much has been blamed on the German manager’s style of play.
Former Inter and current Tottenham manager Antonio Conte suggested Tuchel might not be utilising Lukaku correctly, highlighting his positioning and style of play as the reason. The Belgian has now raised eyebrows by opening up on his problems with the Chelsea boss to the media. Some of his comments to Sky Italia (h/t Metro) tend to suggest the obvious.
Lukaku said, “Physically I am fine. But I’m not happy with the situation at Chelsea. Tuchel has chosen to play with another system – I won’t give up, I’ll be professional. I am not happy with the situation, but I am professional – and I can’t give up now.”
Romelu Lukaku to @SkySport: "Physically I am fine. But I'm NOT happy with the situation at Chelsea. Tuchel has chosen to play with another system – I won't give up, I'll be professional. I am not happy with the situation but I am professional – and I can't give up now". ? #CFC pic.twitter.com/KGNoJ10cwp
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) December 30, 2021
Furthermore, Lukaku went on talk about the events that transpired before his high profile move to Chelsea went through. He also claimed to harbour dreams of returning to Inter, not at the end of his playing career but very much in his prime.
Lukaku continued, “I think everything that happened last summer was not supposed to happen like this… how I left Inter, the way I left the club, how I communicated with Inter fans – this bothers me because it was not the right time. Now it’s the right time to share my feelings. I have always said that I have Inter in my heart: I know I will return to Inter, I really hope so.
“I am in love with Italy; this is the right moment to talk and let people know what really happened. I really hope from bottom of my heart to return to Inter not at the end of my career, but when I’m still at top level to win more together. I want apologise to the Inter fan, timing of my words was wrong: what you did for me will remain forever.”
The Belgian striker has had a difficult season since returning to Stamford Bridge. After starting the season with three goals in two games, Lukaku went several games without scoring and then suffered an injury, keeping him out of action until recently.
He has scored twice in as many games since returning, including in Chelsea’s draw with Brighton on Wednesday. However, after his tirade against Tuchel, it remains to be seen if the manager changes his stance with the striker by not selecting him for the next crunch clash against Liverpool in the Premier League.
