EPL: Tuchel to make Lukaku decision after meeting with striker

Thomas Tuchel has said there is a route back into the Chelsea team for Romelu Lukaku, with crunch talks set to take place on Monday.

Chelsea boss Tuchel took the decision to drop Lukaku on the back of his controversial interview to the Italian media in which he said he was not enjoying his role under the German at Stamford Bridge.

The interview was conducted weeks ago, and before the Belgian embarked on a run of goals, but it caused huge unrest at the club.

Tuchel said that he consulted senior figures in the squad before electing to drop Lukaku for the visit of Liverpool, which suggested the manager had the backing of his players.

Chelsea fell behind to goals from Sadio Mane and Mo Salah, and it looked like the focus would be firmly on the German’s decision to axe Lukaku.

However, Chelsea fought back superbly to claim a 2-2 draw – as they produced a brilliant display.

Lukaku continues to command attention – with his Facebook bio saying Inter Milan – but there is a chance for a reconciliation.

“He is our player,” Tuchel told Sky Sports.

“We will clear this in Cobham behind closed doors and once we have made a decision and Romelu knows, you will maybe know also.”

Pressed on whether Lukaku had issued an apology, Tuchel said: “It is not to be discussed now. Let’s wait some days and see.”
Tuchel added that he will meet Lukaku for talks on Monday.

“There is a meeting on Monday, of course, that’s why we took the decision to delay the decision. We needed some time,” Tuchel told beIN Sports.

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Reflecting on the game, Tuchel said: “Brilliant match of football, everybody not in the stadium missed something – brilliance, energy, some mistakes.

“We started excellent and were 1-0 down out of nothing because we did two or three big mistakes. Then we concede a second one which makes the task very hard.

“The team did not give in and Kova’s (Mateo Kovacic) goal brought the belief back into the stadium. There was almost the perfect comeback in the first half with a third goal on the transition.

“There were a lot of positives to take.”