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Former Chelsea star Craig Burley has advised manager Thomas Tuchel to leave Romelu Lukaku out of the starting line-up for the remaining home games this season. The Blues will host West Ham United, Wolverhampton Wanderers, Leicester City and Watford in the league.
The 28-year-old received a hostile reception from supporters during their disappointing 4-2 Premier League defeat to Arsenal at Stamford Bridgemon Wednesday.
The striker has endured a torrid season in west London. Lukaku has been unable to adapt to Tuchel's system and has fallen out of favour with the German. He is currently behind Kai Havertz and Timo Werner in the pecking order. Lukaku was included in the starting line-up against Mikel Arteta's side in midweek.
The 28-year-old struggled against the Gunners, though, and was taken off with 30 minutes to go. Chelsea fans were seen 'groaning' due to Lukaku's disappointing overall performance. Burley believes the Belgian forward should not play at Stamford Bridge till the end of the season, telling ESPN:
"There's not much good is going to come out of playing Romelu Lukaku at the moment at home because there is a clear discord there between the manager, him and the fans."
He continued:
"If you heard the fans in the first half, it wasn't bad booing, but there was groaning when he didn't make a move, when he didn't challenge physically for a ball, when it looked a bit half-hearted. If there is an opportunity to play him, and I'm not sure there really needs to be, it's probably better at one of the weaker teams away from home."
Lukaku has scored just two goals in his last 18 Premier League appearances for Chelsea. He has scored just 12 goals in 37 appearances across competitions and looks like a pale shadow of his former self.
Chelsea could be open to parting ways with Romelu Lukaku this summer
Romelu Lukaku joined the Blues from Inter Milan for a club-record fee of £97.5 million last summer. The 28-year-old is earning £325,000 per week and is the club's highest earner, as per The Sun.
The Belgian has failed to live up to his lofty price tag, though, and is keen to leave Stamford Bridge, preferably to Inter Milan this summer. He scored 64 goals in 95 appearances during his two seasons with the Nerazurri, helping them win their first Scudetto in 11 years last season.
The Blues could be open to the prospect of parting ways with Lukaku due to his fractured relationship with Tuchel and the club's fans.
