Thomas Tuchel vows to ‘protect’ Romelu Lukaku and says Chelsea is ‘not the easiest place for strikers’

Thomas Tuchel says Chelsea will protect club record signing Romelu Lukaku following criticism of his performance against Crystal Palace at the weekend.

The Belgian has struggled to settle following his £97.5million move from Inter Milan last summer and managed just seven touches in the narrow win over Crystal Palace on Saturday.

Lukaku is in the spotlight at Chelsea once more and has not scored a single Premier League goal since his now infamous December interview with Sky Italia was aired.

Despite his stuttering start at Chelsea, Tuchel says the former Manchester United striker will always be “part of the solution” at Stamford Bridge.

“What can I do? I don’t know,” said Tuchel. “No we have to deal with it. There are doubters out there and the doubters speak a certain language so he was not involved in our game.

“It is sometimes like this with strikers if they struggle a bit in self-confidence and struggle a bit to find the space to get involved against a good defensive side, it can be like this. It is of course not what we want and not what Romelu wants but it is not the time to laugh about it and make jokes about it. He is in the spotlight and we will protect him.”

Chelsea have also been hard hit by injuries which has changed their style throughout the season, with suggestions the lack of wing-backs Ben Chilwell and Reece James means there are fewer chances for Lukaku.

“Of course it changes and we are not the only team where players have this huge impact and in the formation we play, wing-backs are crucial and in a position to influencing the game, but we can also play and win without any player,” said Tuchel.

“This is our job and this is what we want to do.

“When we have injuries and Covid cases, it’s on me to adapt and to find solutions and Romelu will always be part of the solution.”

Lukaku is not the first striker to struggle at Chelsea. Not since Diego Costa in 2017 has a Blues striker scored more than 20 Premier League goals in a season, while teammate Timo Werner has also found it hard to settle after being a sensation in Germany.

“There is a history of strikers struggling a little bit at Chelsea so it is not the easiest place in the world for strikers,” said Tuchel.

“Obviously I don’t know exactly why it is like this but it is. In my opinion Chelsea is a team that is considered as a strong defensive

team that is physical and has a certain attitude and grip in playing competitive football.

“We demand a lot from our strikers in terms of defending. We want to be a physical, hard working group. That is not shy to make it a physical and not only a skillful game.

“That maybe plays a part. We have many games where throughout we have created many deliveries and chances and we have struggled a little bit in the conversion. At the moment this is a time where we struggle to many big chances for our strikers. It is also maybe a normal period in a long season.

“So we are on the subject and well aware and like always it is not always one reason for the problem. It is a very complex sport and we try to keep on playing with faith and belief in what we do and in the team effort and from there we go.”