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Premier League legend Alan Shearer has suggested that Chelsea forward Romelu Lukaku is not worthy of his price tag following yet another below-par performance from the Belgian.
The West London club somehow managed to salvage a scrappy 1-0 win at Selhurst Park against Patrick Vieira's Crystal Palace side in the Premier League on Saturday, thanks to a late goal from in-form Hakim Ziyech.
An 89th-minute volley from the Moroccan secured all three points for the Blues. However, Romelu Lukaku's performance once again fell short of expectations, inviting criticism from fans and pundits. The 28-year-old failed to have any kind of influence in the game, registering just seven touches in the game, one of which was from the kick-off.
Alan Shearer was critical of the Belgian as he spoke on Match of the Day. He claimed that Lukaku is not worthy of the £97.5 million fee that Chelsea had to pay Inter Milan for his services. The England icon said.
"One touch, other than the kick-off in the first half. One. There's definitely not an understanding there of what he wants, what he needs. He's actually stopped running at times because the ball is not coming in. There's numerous examples of that today. I mean, seven touches in the game is absolutely incredible."
The 51-year-old also pointed out that Lukaku did not receive early passes from his teammates despite calling for it on a number of occasions. The trio of Kai Havertz, N'Golo Kante and Malang Sarr failed to find the striker against Palace.
Shearer claimed this could be due to the Belgian's poor movement. He said:
"It's a bit of both. He's got to be demanding that. There's no point paying [£97.5million] if you're not going to play to your forward's strength. It's very frustrating. It's clear that they're not working on things on the training ground because they're not doing it in the game for him or for the team."
Lukaku's miseries at Chelsea continue
Since his return to Chelsea in the summer, nothing has seemingly worked for the Belgian. The interview with Sky in Italy, where Lukaku indicated he was unhappy with Thomas Tuchel's tactics and expressed a desire to return to Inter Milan, did not help either.
However, the 28-year-old scored twice for the Blues in the FIFA Club World Cup as Thomas Tuchel's side added another piece of silverware to their cabinet.
The world champions and their star striker were expected to bring more confidence to their game following their triumph in the United Arab Emirates. But that has not been the case.
The Belgian has scored just 10 goals in 28 games for the Blues so far this season, with only five of them coming in the Premier League. Lukaku needs to step up soon to finally put an end to Chelsea's striker curse.
