Chelsea’s Romelu Lukaku: A victim of many arrogances

It was all going well for Romelu Lukaku, right until that interview slipped out. Just to refresh the timeline, Lukaku was upset by the slowness of his reintroduction to the team post injury. When he did return, he was scoring. But somewhere between A and B, he gave a less than ideal interview that, once it came out, changed the trajectory of his narrative at Chelsea. He was put under a microscope. Maybe he still would be criticized now had that interview never happened. But he would have had more benefit of the doubt. With the interview existing, he’s getting none.

Lukaku has always been a player that has backed himself. When Chelsea signed Diego Costa, Lukaku saw that as a sign to get out of dodge and forge his own path if the club wasn’t willing to trust him. He excelled at Everton. So much so that Chelsea thought it wasn’t too late to say sorry. Some agent shenanigans later, and Lukaku was at Manchester United. Make no mistake; the early days of Lukaku as a Red Devil went very well. It was only really when Ole Gunnar Solskjaer came in and exiled him that Lukaku gained the reputation of laziness that he gained.

But Antonio Conte showed a different side of Lukaku in Serie A. He leaned into what Lukaku was good at and trusted him. That won both Inter’s first Serie A title in ages. Then the first crack appeared with Conte’s departure. Lukaku, perhaps seeing blood in the water, basically put down the ultimatum: extend me or sell me. Chelsea, desperate for a striker that could actually score, simply added fuel to the fire. It took more of the window than it probably should have, but the Blues finally got their man back home.

Lukaku had proved he was a world class player in between his Chelsea stints but the arrogance never left him. As soon as things got mildly hard at Chelsea, he went to speak out. That was his mistake and it is now the albatross around his neck. But do not pretend that Lukaku’s arrogance is the only one influencing his current form. Others have fingers in that pie too.

Thomas Tuchel knew what kind of striker Lukaku was. Lukaku likes to get the ball at his feet and turn around opponents. He has never been good in the air. Yet, far too often at Chelsea, Lukaku is left to be a player latching on to wild long balls and crosses. It happens far too often not to be part of the instructions. So, why is Tuchel so sure that he can make Lukaku into something he very clearly isn’t?

Beyond that, Lukaku regularly opts to pin the back line of the opposition. That works pretty well against two defenders, but the quickest way to nullify Lukaku is to play three at the back. Surely even before Plymouth, Tuchel has realized this. When playing with a striker partner against three at the back, Lukaku has no such issues. Regardless, Lukaku is continuously put into less than advantageous positions and used in ways he doesn’t want to be used. And Tuchel keeps picking him time after time to do these things that don’t work.

That last statement may have to do with another arrogance: the board’s. Last season, when Tuchel arrived, he seemingly had a strong preference for Timo Werner and Kai Havertz over the club’s highest goal scorer Tammy Abraham. That saw the Blues lose the Englishman and Tuchel still required someone he could trust to score goals because he certainly couldn’t trust Werner or Havertz with it. Enter Lukaku.

Now, this would hardly be the first time the board dropped big money on a player and strongly encouraged they be used no matter what. The interview may have shaken the confidence of the board, but it is hard to believe that Lukaku’s last run of games, despite his form, is entirely Tuchel’s decision. The board simply won’t abide by a big money player riding the bench of flopping. They’ll pass the buck to Tuchel to figure it out because they are so sure that they got the signing right. Much can be said about the fit of Lukaku for a manager like Tuchel or even if Tuchel wanted him at all. But at the end of the day, the board was the one that signed off on it and they don’t want their investment to be on the bench.

So that is where Lukaku is currently. A player that believes he has earned more than he deserves, playing for a manager putting him in less than ideal situations with a board eager to see their investment pay off no matter what. Lukaku is the victim of many arrogances. His own, Tuchel’s, and the board’s. Eventually, something will have to give to get the player playing as he should or out of the starting XI for someone that has earned the chance.