Pundits round on Tuchel as Lukaku no-show sees heat rise on ‘huge problem’ at Chelsea

The absence of Romelu Lukaku for Chelsea in their Champions League win over Lille saw the heat rise over their decision to sign him in the summer.

The Blues came into this season with depth in all areas of the squad. They therefore received backing to go on a Premier League title charge with Liverpool and Manchester City.

However, boss Thomas Tuchel then added Belgium international striker Lukaku from Inter. Tuchel saw the centre-forward as the player to fill the only gap in his team. Chelsea subsequently paid a club-record £97.5million to sign him.

Despite a strong start in the Premier League, he has faced struggles of late. Lukaku controversially claimed in December that Tuchel’s tactics were to blame and the manager subsequently dropped the striker.

However, clear-the-air talks between the pair have not led to a consistent improvement in form. Lukaku scored two of Chelsea’s three goals in their triumphant Club World Cup campaign recently. Still, he then only had seven touches of the ball against Crystal Palace on Saturday.

On Tuesday, meanwhile, he stayed on the bench, with Kai Havertz leading the line instead and scoring the opening goal. Speaking to BT Sport the match, Joe Cole lauded Havertz’s “conviction” and “striker’s mentality” in the No. 9 role.

Rio Ferdinand then claimed it would be a “big problem” if Havertz really is settling into his current position.

Cole added: “It’s a huge problem, think about his form at the end of last season when he was able to drop off and runners go and behind him, his best position is a No.9, but that’s bad for Lukaku.

Chelsea look at Ekitike to replace Lukaku as Abramovich gets frustrated

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“He reminds me of a [Roberto] Firmino type player, someone that knits it all together, he would have been a nightmare to mark tonight.”

Tuchel insisted after the 2-0 win over Lille that Lukaku felt physically and mentally tired.

However, he did not rule out the Belgian starting Sunday’s Carabao Cup final against Liverpool, saying “every game is different”.

Nevertheless, Thierry Henry admitted that Lukaku’s no-show raised further questions about why Chelsea brought him back to Stamford Bridge.

Lukaku heat rises after Chelsea no-show

Former Arsenal striker Henry told CBS Sports: “Right from the start I raised a question to myself, would he fit into this team?

“As a coach when you go and get Lukaku, you will have to make him adapt to how you play, or you change your way to suit him. I didn’t think that would happen.

“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.”

Henry added that while Chelsea need to “move forward”, finding a solution to Lukaku’s struggles will prove “very difficult”.

Chelsea face Liverpool at Wembley for the first silverware of the season on Sunday.