Garth Crooks has slammed Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel for the way he treated Romelu Lukaku in the past couple of months.
Lukaku’s been in the spotlight ever since a club-record £97.5million transfer from Inter Milan to Stamford Bridge in the summer.
The 28-year-old’s interview in December with Sky Italia saw him admit he was not happy at that moment with his situation. Subsequently, Tuchel left him out of for just one game, which was a 2-2 draw with Liverpool in the Premier League on 2 January.
The Belgian forward apologised before being reintroduced to the side.
Last week he scored in both the semi-final and final as Chelsea won the Club World Cup.
Lukaku’s now got 10 goals in 27 appearances so far this season in all competitions, but the side still need plenty more from him in the final third.
BBC pundit Crooks described the left-footed striker as “instrumental” in winning the Club World Cup final against Palmeiras on the weekend. He’s been critical of Tuchel’s approach with him, though.
“I said Thomas Tuchel would need Romelu Lukaku and so it is proving. The overzealous nonsense by the Chelsea manager in sanctioning the Belgium striker after he fell for the flattery of an interviewer in Italy almost cost Tuchel and the club. Instead Lukaku apologised when other strikers of similar calibre might have put two fingers up to the manager and made for the exit,” Crooks wrote.
“All credit to Lukaku, who has knuckled down and worked his way back to form with regular appearances, which is all the £97.5m player wanted in the first place. Lukaku led the line brilliantly against Palmeiras and was instrumental in Chelsea winning the Club World Cup for the first time in their history. Not a bad return.”
Tuchel not putting foot wrong at Chelsea helm
In fairness, many Blues supporters believe Tuchel handled the Lukaku interview saga well by handing him a brief one-game punishment for a public outburst.
Lukaku’s an experienced professional that should know better and the situation was quickly swept under the carpet.
He’s now starting nearly every game for the Blues, so is getting a very fair chance to prove he can be the talisman in this side at Stamford Bridge.
It’s a relief to see him return from the Club World Cup in Abu Dhabi with a couple of goals to his name.
Pat Nevin agreed that Lukaku looked great against Palmeiras, too.
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