Romelu Lukaku might have to QUIT Chelsea before World Cup this year, hints Belgium manager Roberto Martinez
BELGIUM boss Roberto Martinez has hinted Romelu Lukaku might have to quit Chelsea this summer – for his World Cup good. The £97m striker has struggled for game-time under Thomas Tuchel since Christmas, after being forced into a public apology for his Italian TV interview in which he signalled his unhappiness at the Bridge. And […]
BELGIUM boss Roberto Martinez has hinted Romelu Lukaku might have to quit Chelsea this summer – for his World Cup good.
The £97m striker has struggled for game-time under Thomas Tuchel since Christmas, after being forced into a public apology for his Italian TV interview in which he signalled his unhappiness at the Bridge.
And while Martinez said he had no inkling that Lukaku wants out of SW6, he agreed he was one of the Belgian stars who may be considering his future in the summer.
Martinez said: “We are talking about players, like Romelu, who have got over 100 caps and are part of this group of players who know the national team inside out.
“I’m not going to judge or assess the condition of any player until after the summer because it is not a normal situation.
“It is still seven months to the World Cup and probably you will go into the details of how a player feels when it gets closer to it than now.
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“But there will be a lot of players who change clubs or are going to feel in a different way in the summer.
“Romelu needs to be assessed on how he feels in September, the same way Eden Hazard does and some others.
“But he is one of the players for whom the summer could be a big moment for their careers.”
That suggested Martinez is aware of Lukaku’s disquiet and the former Everton manager added: “We always speak.
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“I have a very close relationship with all my players. I would never tell a player what to do but we always share thoughts.
“At the moment Romelu is in a good place. He is so committed.
“He was delighted to win the Club World Cup and the next step is to finish the season strong with Chelsea and make sure he can feel very important.”