Romelu Lukaku has dropped a major bombshell by confessing he is unhappy with his role under Thomas Tuchel and confirms his intention of switching back to Inter Milan.
The £97.5million striker admits he is ‘not happy’ with his place in the German head coach’s first-team plans in remarks that shocked club officials last night.
In an interview with Sky Sport Italy, the Belgium international said: ‘Physically I am fine. But I’m not happy with the situation at Chelsea. Tuchel has chosen to play with another system.
The interview took place around three weeks ago and Lukaku has scored in two consecutive Premier League games since then which may have calmed his frustrations.
Yet it is understood the 28-year-old has privately expressed his concerns to Tuchel in recent weeks.
Speaking earlier this month, Tuchel implied that Lukaku still hadn’t fully adapted to English football following his arrival from Italy in the summer – an indication that the Chelsea boss wasn’t entirely satisfied with his star striker’s contribution.
Tuchel will face tough questions about Lukaku’s controversial remarks during his pre-match media briefing ahead of Sunday’s clash against Liverpool on Friday morning.
In the same interview, Lukaku opened the door to returning to Inter Milan – the club he left in the summer – in the not too distant future.
Inter sold the centre-forward to ease their huge financial concerns in the summer, while Lukaku made clear he wanted to return to Stamford Bridge.
But the former Manchester United star appears to have cleared the path for a potential return to Milan, saying:
‘I think everything that happened last summer was not supposed to happen like this… how I left Inter, the way I left the club, how I communicated with Inter fans – this bothers me because it was not the right time.
‘I really hope from bottom of my heart to return to Inter not at the end of my career, but when I’m still at top level to win more together.
‘I want apologise to the Inter fans, the timing of my words was wrong: what you did for me will remain forever.’
It is now left to be known whether Thomas Tuchel will punish the Belgian for his words or allow it slide, taking into consideration that Lukaku has scored in two consecutive matches since then.
