Romelu Lukaku has failed to win over fans at Chelsea.
According to Football Insider (h/t Football.London), Romelu Lukaku is ‘unhappy’ at Chelsea and could potentially force a move away from Stamford Bridge at the end of the season.
The Belgian striker has largely struggled to justify his £97.5 million price tag ever since making the switch from Inter Milan last summer. The 28-year-old conjured up a lethal duo with striker partner Lautaro Martinez at the Stadio Giuseppe Meazza, guiding the Nerazzurri to their first Scudetto in 11 years.
The former Manchester United hitman had a vast array of experience in the Premier League before his move to the Blues last summer. After a great start to his second stint with Chelsea, the Belgian international has failed to cement his place as a regular starter in the team.
Versatile attacker Kai Havertz has donned the role of the centre-forward in recent times and his ability to find pockets of space and influence the play going forward means that Thomas Tuchel has given him the green light ahead of Lukaku in recent fixtures.
Despite his recent struggles, the former Evertonian managed to get on the scoresheet in their latest FA Cup triumph over Middlesbrough. He opened the scoring in the 15th minute and Hakim Ziyceh doubled the lead in the 31st minute at the Riverside stadium to put the Blues into the semi-final of the competition where they now face Crystal Palace.
Lukaku also put in some key performances for the West Londoners in the recently concluded FIFA Club World Cup as the club managed to bag the illustrious trophy for the first time ever in their rich history last February. However, the striker has struggled to showcase the same kind of form in the Premier League as well as the UEFA Champions League.
The 28-year-old has played 19 games in the PL so far this season, managing a paltry return of five goals during that period. This is even more concerning considering the fact that he is our highest wage-earner at the moment bagging a solid £325,000-a-week.
While it can take some time to adapt to a new team and their environment, the player is yet to really capture the imagination of the fans on his return to London and has already had a run-in with them earlier this season with his infamous interview on Sky Italia. The Blues are heading towards the business end of the campaign and are still competing on several fronts.
This could provide the Belgian with a lot of opportunities to prove himself once again. Despite his struggle for form, Tuchel stated earlier in the month that Lukaku is positive and handling this rough patch in a professional manner. It is good to see that the German manager is backing him rather than pushing him out to fend for himself.
That being said, the club could still cut their losses and remove a significant amount of money from the wage bill should the player be shipped off. If the striker truly isn’t happy at the club, then perhaps there won’t be many better options than letting him leave.
But that doesn’t mean the club should take a big loss in doing that. We paid a premium sum for him and the club would be wise to recoup most of it if they ever do decide to sell him in the near future.
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