“We hope”: Tuchel hints when Romelu Lukaku can make his second Chelsea debut ahead of Arsenal showdown

Tuchel hints at Romelu Lukaku making second Chelsea debut this weekend

Chelsea manager, Thomas Tuchel, has mentioned in an interview (h/t football.london) that Romelu Lukaku could make his second debut for the club in the London derby against Arsenal.

Lukaku signed for the Blues for a massive £97.5million fee earlier this month. And the former Inter Milan and Manchester United striker could take the field for Chelsea as soon as Sunday.

That is according to Thomas Tuchel. The German manager believes Lukaku can feature against Arsenal in the London derby at the Emirates this Sunday.

“We have one more training session to go but the week was a heavy load. He was with the group with the late starters, so it was an overload week so far. Today was low intensity and tomorrow we will have an important session before the match. We hope he will be on the pitch on Sunday and it looks likely.”

Lukaku could play vs Arsenal

The 28-year-old Belgian international is bad news for any team he lines up against. That, however, was not really the case a decade ago, when Lukaku first signed for the club.

A force to reckon with in Belgium with Anderlecht, Lukaku failed to impress in the 15 games he played for the Blues. His first debut for the club came against Norwich City in a 7-minute cameo during the 2011/12 Premier League season.

He only went on to make 14 more appearances, of which just four were starts. And of those four starts, just one came in the Premier League- when he was taken off in the 54th minute against Blackburn Rovers in May 2012.

More Chelsea News:

• Chelsea will be without Christian Pulisic for the London Derby on Sunday
• Transfer News: Alaves complete agreement with Chelsea over Matt Miazga loan
• Chelsea could sign Saul Niguez before the end of the month

Things are different now. Lukaku is no longer a teenager and is one of the most feared strikers in Europe. Chelsea fans would now be hoping that his second spell is worth the price tag and he can guide the team to even more silverware.