Former Chelsea manager Glenn Hoddle has asked Romelu Lukaku to focus on the present and be exemplary as a substitute.
Lukaku, who was signed for €120m last summer, has been cited by Italian media for a return to his former club Inter due to his deteriorating situation in the English capital.
In the last four league matches he has been a substitute. It is the same in the last two meetings of the Champions League played by the Blues. And he’s very likely to be left on the bench again against Real Madrid on Wednesday.
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Hoddle gave his take on the situation and called on the Belgium international to accept his new role without complaining: “I’ve never seen an amount of money score a goal to be honest. Listen, if Chelsea want to win the Champions League, the FA Cup and get into the top 4, then Lukaku needs to get up to speed. When you have a substitute like Lukaku, he can impact the game in a different way and that could prove to be valuable at some point. Right now he comes in and doesn’t influence the game.”
‘Lukaku could be more useful to Chelsea from the bench’
“If he looks in the mirror, he might be like ‘ok, I’m not making the team because Kai Havertz is playing well, but every second I’m on this pitch, I’m going to be a threat. I will move well and work to get goalscoring opportunities.”continued the former England coach.
Hoddle went on to invite Lukaku to serve the collective: “If he doesn’t do that, then Thomas Tuchel won’t field him. He could be useful in another way to Chelsea from the bench. He could come on for 10 minutes and give the away or away win. That’s how he can get back into the first team’s starting XI. It’s all about putting the ball in the back of the net and showing his willingness to do so on the training ground. can think about a transfer next summer, but for now it’s about the present and he has to look in the mirror and bring out the best in himself.”