Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel says ‘there is always a way back’ for Romelu Lukaku after dropping striker for Liverpool game
THOMAS TUCHEL said ‘there is always a way back’ for Romelu Lukaku after Chelsea’s club-record signing was dropped against Liverpool.
Lukaku found himself omitted from the squad completely following his bombshell interview with Sky in Italy.
Kai Havertz, 22, replaced the Belgian, 28, but manager Tuchel confirmed there is still hope for the axed forward.
Tuchel said: “He is our player, there is always a way back, we will clear this behind closed doors and once we have made a decision and Romelu knows, you will maybe know also.
“It is not to be discussed now.”
Lukaku watched from home as Chelsea came from behind to draw 2-2, and ultimately miss chances to steal all three points.
It followed after he admitted to wanting a return to Inter Milan one day, would never have left had he been offered a new deal and named Real Madrid, Barcelona and Bayern Munich as the world’s biggest clubs.
The words came less than six months after Lukaku re-joined Chelsea from Inter in a £97.5million move.
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Tuchel made the decision to drop the striker after watching the interview in full – and felt there was no other choice to make.
He said before the draw: “The thing got too big, too noisy, so close to the match, so I decided to protect the preparation for the match, so that is why he is out.
“We delayed the decision over what to do, but we have to protect the preparation for the match, we have a big game to play.
“Of course we have spoken, twice. And to the main players, but after that we had to realise it was too close to the match, it’s too big.
“Full focus, which is hard to get even without this decision, was easier in my opinion if he is not in the squad, and that is why we did it.
“It was a difficult decision, but in my opinion it was the decision to take.”