Italian footballing legend Alessandro Del Piero has delivered his verdict on Romelu Lukaku by saying the Chelsea forward hasn’t looked a natural fit “from day one” since re-signing in the summer.
The Blues forked out a club-record £97.5million transfer fee last summer to bring him back to Stamford Bridge.
He was expected to be a big success this year after two brilliant seasons at Inter Milan.
The Belgian forward did end up with 15 goals across all competitions to mean his season wasn’t a complete washout. He even started the campaign with three goals in his opening three Premier League matches.
However, there’s been weeks in the season where he’s not been in the preferred starting line-up of manager Thomas Tuchel.
Del Piero on Lukaku
Del Piero, who’s now working as a pundit for ESPN, has given some intriguing comments on Chelsea’s number nine.
He suggests the 29-year-old just isn’t the right fit for Tuchel.
“From day one, he’s had a problem with the team, and the way Tuchel is playing is not the way Lukaku plays in a team,” Del Piero told ESPN.
“Tuchel [likes] players that move a lot, they don’t keep the position. They bought Lukaku for one reason: to have a different kind of attack. He’s capable of doing that in an amazing way and does it perfectly in Italy. In England, where there’s no big physical advantage, it’s a little bit tougher.
“It was a good deal for Inter to sell him for sure.”
Blues future
Lukaku’s one of the most spoken about players in Chelsea’s camp going into the summer transfer window.
It’s been reported Tuchel’s side could be willing to send the striker out on loan, with ex-club Inter potentially interested.
However, it’s been claimed loan fees could cost between €12million (£10.2m) and €24million (£20.5million).
Chelsea need to try gain a clear understanding soon about where Lukaku will be playing next season because finding a suitable replacement could be quite the task.
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