Lukaku ‘perfect’ for Chelsea as Tuchel praises star quality
Chelsea head coach Thomas Tuchel believes Romelu Lukaku is “the perfect fit” as he praised the star’s “quality” and his desire to return to Stamford Bridge.
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Lukaku is set to make his debut for Chelsea against London rivals Arsenal in the Premier League on Sunday after his £ 97.5million (€ 115million) transfer from Serie A champions Inter.
The Belgian international forward left Chelsea in 2014, eventually joining Manchester United Inter in 2019, scoring 64 goals in all competitions – his 24 Serie A goals in 2020-21 leading the Nerazzurri to their first Scudetto in 11 years.
Lukaku converted 25% of his 96 shots in Serie A, scored 20 of 39 big chances and added 11 more assists last season, while Lukaku, 28, ranks fourth in shooting conversion in the top five European leagues since joining Inter in August 2019 – scoring 24.2% of the chances that have come their way.
Tuchel praised Lukaku, telling reporters: “Once you bring players with the amount of money [spent] but also the status and the quality [of Lukaku] so of course the expectations do not decrease.
“It’s actually the same for us. My expectations aren’t lowering so let’s be positive about it. It doesn’t work without quality. We don’t do magic on the sidelines.
“We could feel that he was trying hard and we could already reach a point which is very important and which maybe has not been mentioned – how much does the player want to play for Chelsea?
“How much of history does he want to write at this club? Is this the next step on his path to [somewhere else]? Or is it like “yes I would like but I’m happy where I am” or is it “yes this is coming at the right time and I will actually walk towards you”. And this is what Romelu absolutely transported us. “There weren’t a lot of names and one of the absolute best solutions was Romelu.” At the end of the day we can only push for the things people have and Romelu brings something to the team that we are absolutely aware and convinced.
“So at the moment it’s more fun than the pressure. It sounds perfect and of course it’s our job to bring out the best in this group.”
Chelsea have won their last four derbies away from the Premier League in London, winning five in a row between January 2005 and January 2006 under Jose Mourinho.
The Blues have won 15 of their last 20 Premier League away games in August (D3 L2), despite being their first away league game against Arsenal this month since 1984, when they drew 1-1 at Highbury with Kerry Dixon canceling Paul The Mariner’s opening for the Gunners.