Thomas Tuchel has called for ‘patience’ with Romelu Lukaku at Chelsea and insists he ‘trusts’ the club’s record signing.
Lukaku became the most expensive signing in Chelsea history after arriving from Inter Milan in a £98m deal last summer, but the forward has endured an underwhelming campaign since returning to the Premier League.
The 28-year-old has struggled for form and fitness this season, whilst the release of a controversial interview with Italian media did little to aid his adaptation.
Lukaku impressed during Chelsea’s trip to the UAE for the Club World Cup, however, scoring the decisive goal in the semi-final before opening the scoring in the final win over Palmeiras.
The Belgian is now Chelsea’s leading scorer in all competitions with 10 goals and Tuchel is confident Lukaku can find his form across the remainder of the season.
“We need a bit of more patience than we perhaps all wanted to have with his signing,” Tuchel told his pre-match press conference ahead of the club’s clash with Crystal Palace.
“We demand a lot of our strikers in terms of intensity, so there are several reasons why things are maybe like this.
“There are teams who heavily rely on one goal scorer, that is no secret, but there are teams who rely on more shoulders.
“So both ways work and we want to bring Romelu to better situations. It’s an ongoing process.
“We still have trust because he has proved at any of the club’s he’s been that he is the guy who gets the last touch on the end of attacks.
“Disappointed is not the right word but, of course, we thought for him, I’m pretty sure for him as well he wanted to produce the numbers right from the start.
“We are all humans and we keep on going.”
