Thomas Tuchel has dismissed the suggestion that Chelsea’s attack functions better without club-record signing Romelu Lukaku and insists the Belgian has remained an integral part of the squad despite missing the last five weeks with an ankle injury.
Lukaku returned to Stamford Bridge in a £97.5million deal from Inter Milan in the summer and hit the ground running with four goals in his opening four appearances. It was the dream start for the striker at his boyhood club.
However, a seven-game goalless run followed in which Lukaku became an increasingly isolated figure in Chelsea’s frontline. He was then injured during the 4-0 Champions League win over Malmo on October 20 and hasn’t featured since.
In the absence of the 28-year-old – and Timo Werner, who suffered a hamstring injury in the same game – Kai Havertz and Christian Pulisic have led the Blues’ attack. In those seven matches, 23 goals were scored and casual observers have suggested that Tuchel’s side carries a greater threat without Lukaku.
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That notion was put to Tuchel ahead of Chelsea’s Premier League clash against Manchester United and, somewhat unsurprisingly, the German coach fundamentally disagreed.
“Yes, I understand why people say this as people always look for easy solutions,” he said. “People look for one reason and that things go one way or the other. But life is not like this, life is not that easy, and life in a football team is not that easy.
“Mabe we shine so brightly now because Romelu did the hard work before, he scored some very decisive goals for us already, to bring us in a position where the young players and other players can take over, step in and show their qualities.
“We started strong and we started the season with Romelu. The things he brings when he is in the dressing room, in the building, even when he is injured, he is every day here, positive, determined, he pushes everybody. He is a top professional and a top top striker. He will be super and he is actually in the moment very important.
“I am happy that we can survive a long period without him, without (Mateo) Kovacic, without (Timo) Werner, without (Christian) Pulisic. It shows we function as a team absolutely and we rely on top qualities like every team but they bring so much more than only their presence on the field.
“We miss all our players when they are injured and we will Romelu a lot and we are capable of finding solutions and the team is doing so well as Romelu is pushing, he is here and he is part of the team. There are different views on the subject and the whole conversation is more complex than it seems to be. The competition is on, which is a good thing.”
Lukaku was an unused substitute in midweek as Chelsea overcame Juventus 4-0 and will be desperate to start against United given his history at Old Trafford.
The Belgium international joined the Reds from Everton in 2017 but lasted just two seasons before being pushed out of the side and sold to Inter Milan, the club he would go on to win the Serie A title with last term.
Yet Tuchel knows he has to protect Lukaku, that the striker has to be eased back into the fold after more than a month on the sidelines. Something which the Chelsea head coach can do with Kai Havertz back and availible.
“Romelu is in training. If you ask the player he will say he can start for sure,” Tuchel explained.
“There is a bigger difference between being ready for training and being ready for games. There is also a difference between being ready for games and being ready for a Premier League game.
“We only have three changes so the possibility he starts is not very high because we can’t be sure what happens in matches and we have to find the balance between giving minutes and being absolutely competitive for 90 minutes with the guys that start.”