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Former Premier League footballer Jamie O’Hara believes striker Romelu Lukaku lost all confidence and was disastrous for Chelsea.
The Blues signed Lukaku for a club record £101.7million in the summer of 2021 from Inter Milan, but he struggled for consistency.
The Belgian got off to a stunning start as he replicated his Inter Milan form at Stamford Bridge. He mustered three goals in his first three Premier League games for the Blues.
However, Lukaku could only manage five more goals over the remainder of the league season as Chelsea’s title hopes distinguished early in 2022.
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The Belgian’s body language certainly didn’t look good either, and he lost the fans’ respect after his interview with the Italian media went viral. Lukaku explained in the interview that Thomas Tuchel’s system didn’t suit him, and he was subsequently dropped in the aftermath of that interview (via Sky Sports).
O’Hara explained that Lukaku looked low on confidence and didn’t get any from Tuchel over the course of the season.
O’Hara told talkSPORT:
“His performances weren’t really good enough. It looks like he’s lost his confidence. I think Lukaku is one of those players who needs to have an arm around him by the manager to really give him that belief. Thomas Tuchel didn’t give him that."
He added that Lukaku was a disastrous signing for the Blues:
“It’s been an absolute disaster of a signing. I thought he was going to be the final piece in the jigsaw.”
Chelsea trying to offload Lukaku
The Belgian mustered just eight league goals for Chelsea last season as opposed to the 24 that he managed in Serie A in the preceding year with Inter Milan. After such a poor performance, the Blues could loan Lukaku out.
As per journalist Fabrizio Romano, Inter Milan and the Blues are set to contact each other to discuss a potential loan move for the Belgian striker.
The forward had a good time in Italy as he scored goals consistently. He had the right setup to flourish with the Nerazzurri under former manager Antonio Conte. He helped Inter Milan win the Serie A in the 2020-21 season.
Chelsea will hope to replace the Belgian with a forward who can be more prolific in front of goal if he departs.
