Was Romelu Lukaku treated unfairly after his recent interview?

By Tom Masters

Chelsea broke their transfer record in the summer when securing the services of Belgian forward Romelu Lukaku from Inter Milan, but his involvement has been limited due to a mixture of injury and Covid, before his controversial interview with Sky Sport Italia.

When he signed for £97.5m, it seemed inevitable that he would go on to become a vital asset to Chelsea and his start backed that up, scoring against Arsenal on debut before going on to score twice against Aston Villa in his first game at Stamford Bridge.

But following his outburst, which saw him dropped from the matchday squad for the Liverpool match, it seemed that Lukaku’s place in Thomas Tuchel’s squad could be at risk, with many fans unhappy with the fact he even did an interview, let alone what was said.

But following an apology and Tuchel doing his best to simmer any tension between Lukaku, the fans and his teammates, the Belgian is back into the fold and started in the 2-0 win over Tottenham Hotspur in the Carabao Cup semi-final first leg last week.

But looking back at the initial reaction, was he unfairly treated?

Context

Lukaku spoke to Italian media ahead of the match against Aston Villa at Villa Park on Boxing Day. Chelsea won 3-1, with Lukaku starting off the bench as he came on to score and win a penalty in his first involvement since contracting Covid.

When the interview was released, it quite quickly became a hot topic, with many fans not happy at how Lukaku vocally aired his disappointment at not playing and spoke of wanting to return to Inter “not when I’m old but in my prime.”

Having joined for such a heavy price just three and a half months before his outburst, it did seem a strange way of going about voicing his opinions.

Apology

What occurred was Lukaku being left out of the side to face Liverpool, which ended in a 2-2 draw, before an apology was revealed on Chelsea’s socials in which the former Everton, West Brom and Manchester United forward “was sorry for any upset caused.”

This may have been exactly what many people wanted to hear, and no doubt was something that Tuchel and the senior members of the squad insisted on, but not everyone was convinced.

At times it seemed scripted (which to some degree at least it probably was), while parts did seem to have genuine remorse, which has led to a very mixed review from fans and pundits alike.

He explained that it was more of a misunderstanding than anything else, saying that he felt he did not get to properly sign off from Inter and say goodbye to the fans.

Whether that is true or not, an apology was made, which seemed like the minimum requirement before he could return to the pitch.

Other players doing the same

It is not unheard of for players to voice their opinions in this manner, Eden Hazard seemed to do it every year before he finally left the club for Real Madrid in 2019.

However, what was very apparent here was the timing that it all came out.

Reece James and Ben Chilwell have both been ruled out for considerable amounts of time, and the form of the Champions League holders has seen a genuine title charge seemingly finish before the New Year with barely a whimper.

That has led to significant extra trouble on the shoulders of Tuchel, who was already dealing with an injury crisis and poor form.

Verdict

One thing that really is key here is that the way for Lukaku to really regain the respect and trust of the fans is to do it on the pitch, score goals and do so consistently.

The timing of his outburst is what has really got him in trouble, although the mere thinking that it was a good idea to publicly reveal his feelings still seems rather naïve.

He is on a five-year contract at the Blues though and made it clear in his apology video that he intends to see that through, winning trophies along the way.

Chelsea are in pole position to reach the Carabao Cup final, if Lukaku can win that for Chelsea, all will be forgotten.

Photo Credit: Getty Images