The firestorm around Romelu Lukaku is growing, as Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel confirms he dropped the former Inter striker against Liverpool while they ‘delay the decision of what to do’ and Antonio Conte’s Tottenham keep a close eye on the situation.
Lukaku gave an exclusive interview to Sky Sport Italia circa three weeks ago and it included bombshell statements on his regrets at leaving Inter last summer, apologising to the fans for the way he walked out and assuring he will return in the near future to play for them at San Siro.
He also stated that there were problems with Tuchel and he “could not be happy” with the environment at Stamford Bridge.
As reported, Tuchel has dropped Lukaku from the Chelsea squad entirely for today’s Premier League showdown with Liverpool, so the Belgian is not even on the bench.
“The thing got too big, the thing got too noisy so close to the match, so I decided to protect the preparation of the match, and that’s why he’s out,” Tuchel told Sky Sports UK.
“Of course we have spoken twice, I’ve spoken to my main players, and after that we had to realise it was too close to the match.
“We delayed the decision of what to do, and while we are delaying it, we need to protect the preparation of the match and need full focus.
“It is hard to get that even with this decision, but it is in my opinion easier if he is not in the squad and that is why we did it.
“For sure it was a difficult decision to take, but in my opinion it was the decision to take.”
Meanwhile, Lukaku’s former teammate Tim Howard revealed he received a text message from the Belgium international.
“I can’t talk too much about it. It’s very hot,” was the text quoted by Howard live on television.
“There will be another meeting on Monday. I have another meeting on Monday, then I can talk more.”
Many are seeing Lukaku’s interview as a way of pushing his way out of Chelsea just six months after the €115m transfer.
A return to Inter is improbable, not to mention unpopular with fans who have not accepted his apology, but a more likely option would be reuniting with Antonio Conte at Tottenham Hotspur.
Spurs had been targeting Fiorentina centre-forward Dusan Vlahovic, but could go for Lukaku instead.
Tuchel to Chelsea official app:
“We have spoken twice and he has spoken to the lead players and after that we had to realise it’s too close to the match and it’s too big. We need to protect the preparation.”
“For sure it was a difficult decision but in my opinion the one to take”— Miguel Delaney (@MiguelDelaney) January 2, 2022
I really didn’t like the idea of Lukaku joining Chelsea in the first place. In my opinion, the coming of Lukaku destabilized the real champions league squad. Im already glad about this whole situation if it will lead to his exit; so that the real squad will get focused again.