*Undated
Romelu Lukaku says it is up to him to 'restore trust' after making a public apology to Chelsea head coach Thomas Tuchel, his team-mates and the club’s supporters over his recent interview.
Tuchel confirmed on Tuesday January 4th that Lukaku is in contention to return for Chelsea in Wednesday's Carabao Cup semi-final against Tottenham, having stood down the club-record signing down for Sunday's 2-2 Premier League draw with Liverpool.
In an interview aired by Sky in Italy, Lukaku said he was not happy with the situation at Chelsea and indicated he had issues with Tuchel's style of play.
"To the fans, I'm sorry for the upset that I caused," Lukaku said in an interview with the club website. "You guys know the connection that I have with this club since my teenage years, so I totally understand you guys being upset."
"Obviously, it's up to me now to restore your trust and I'll do my best to show commitment every day on the training ground and in the games, trying to make sure that we win games. And also to the manager, I apologise, and also to my team-mates and the board, because I think it was not the right moment also and I want to move forward from this and make sure that we start winning football games and that I perform for the team in the best manner."
"First of all, we were even in the background happy that we took the time that it needed to look calmly on it and talk calmly," Tuchel said. "He has apologised and is back in the squad for today's training [session] later. We have had enough time to clear the air and move on."
"There will be some discipline actions," said Tuchel. "Something happened, he will be fined and of course, he needs to accept it."
In a 29-minute interview with Sky in Italy recorded earlier in December, Lukaku said he said he was "not happy" with his situation at Chelsea, questioned Tuchel's system and revealed he turned down a move to Manchester City in 2020.
Among Lukaku's most notable statements was what appeared to at the very least be an indication that he might find it awkward to adapt into Tuchel's system, one which generally asks him to lead the line flanked by two inside forwards rather than the strike partner he had at Inter Milan in Lautaro Martinez.
In 12 Premier League and European matches with Lukaku in the side Chelsea have scored 22 goals with a per game expected goals (xG) return of 1.6. In 15 matches without their No. 9 they look to be a more devastating attack force, scoring 36 times and registering 2.1 xG per game. The message from Tuchel was clear; the player must adapt to the system, not vice versa.