Chris Sutton reveals why he believes Romelu Lukaku failed to live up to the hype at Chelsea on It’s All Kicking Off… and claims there will be no third time lucky for him back at the Bridge
Chris Sutton believes Romelu Lukaku’s failure at Chelsea is ‘largely’ down to his own doing due to a lack of fitness.
Lukaku is currently plying his trade in Italian football with Roma, his second loan spell since rejoining the Blues in the summer of 2021.
His second spell at Stamford Bridge did not go to plan as the Belgian striker left for Inter Milan after just one season following a falling out with ex-boss Thomas Tuchel.
However, his performance for Belgium in the 2-2 draw against England at Wembley, in which he provided a spectacular assist for Youri Tielemans’ second goal, sparked debate Mail Sport’s It’s All Kicking Off podcast why it all went wrong in West London.
“It’s a bit of a head-scratcher actually,” Chris Sutton said in conversation with co-host Ian Ladyman.
Chris Sutton revealed he thinks Romelu Lukaku’s conditioning may have led to Chelsea’s failure
Lukaku played just 44 games in his second spell at Blues before being loaned out
He is currently plying his trade at Roma and his seasonal loan is due to expire soon
The 30-year-old scored an assist in Belgium’s 2-2 draw against England on Tuesday evening
He then added: ‘If you look at Lukaku over the years throughout his career, he’s been productive, he’s been a massive handful – he’s got all the attributes.
‘He goes to Chelsea (the second time) and then you think ‘here we go’. He scored in his first game and took all the praise away from Arsenal.
‘You think this is a very important goal for him – (he) went down hard for the second time – and then he just dropped out.
‘I don’t know if he wasn’t in the best condition, maybe he let himself go a bit, maybe he lost confidence and wasn’t the same player anymore. That is why he returned to Italy. He has done well there and internationally.
‘In many ways you could say: could (Thomas) Tuchel have gotten more out of him? But I do think a lot of it was down to Lukaku and possibly not taking care of himself as he should have.”
In response, Ladyman fondly recalled Lukaku’s spell at Everton, where he scored 87 goals in 166 games in all competitions.
Mail Sport’s football editor said: ‘The best football I ever saw him play was actually for Everton. He was an absolute handful for Everton, he played really well when he was on Merseyside and that was the reason he moved to Manchester United.”
Lukaku played for both Everton and Manchester United in between his two spells at Chelsea
Ian Ladyman believes Lukaku’s best footballing days were on Merseyside at Everton
However, Ladyman did not look back on Lukaku’s career at Manchester United in the same light.
‘He never looked comfortable at United. “His goalscoring record is actually okay, but I think they’re hiding the fact that he never really looked comfortable,” he said.
Lukaku has been criticized in recent years, especially for his conditioning during his final years at United and then Chelsea.
This is why Sutton, who won the Premier League with Blackburn in 1995, believes his career has not been as successful as it could have been.
Sutton explained: “People have pointed out his lack of fitness, he seems to be a player who has put on weight and hasn’t always kept it on.
“We know he’s a brilliant goalscorer, I don’t think there’s any shame in saying that, but essentially he hasn’t taken care of himself the way he should have.
“I think that has been detrimental to his career at times.”
As Sutton reiterated, Lukaku has a good goalscoring record on paper, having scored 298 goals in his club career, not to mention the 83 he has brought home for his country.
Neither Sutton nor Ladyman believe Lukaku will play for Chelsea for a third time
Nevertheless, neither Sutton nor Ladyman believe the Belgian striker has a future at Blues, despite his cryptic response in a post-match interview against England.
Ladyman shared: ‘He was asked about it afterwards (going back to Chelsea) in the interview room, someone congratulated him on his achievement and said ‘Do you still feel you have a point to prove with English football, are you still still looking? to impress people?”
“And he just laughed and said, ‘You have to ask Chelsea that,’ and walked away.
‘I’m not for one minute suggesting Lukaku will play for Chelsea again, I don’t think he will.’
Sutton agreed: ‘I don’t see it being third time lucky for him, I don’t see him wanting to entertain Chelsea.’