Some big breaking news from David Ornstein: Romelu Lukaku is not in Chelsea’s squad to face Liverpool today.
The 28-year-old striker has scored in his last two Premier League appearances for Chelsea but found himself at the centre of a controversy this week after an interview was broadcast in which he said he was unhappy with his role at Stamford Bridge.
Chelsea head coach Thomas Tuchel has not hidden his displeasure at the unauthorised interview and said during his most recent press conference that he would hold “behind closed doors talks” with Lukaku, who is Chelsea’s record signing.
Lukaku, who arrived at Stamford Bridge from Inter Milan in a deal worth €115 million (£96.4 million) this summer, only returned to training last week having previously suffered from an ankle injury and a bout of COVID-19.
He scored in recent fixtures against Aston Villa and Brighton, but frustrated the club with an interview recorded several weeks ago but aired on Sky Italia on Thursday, in which he said he would like to return to Inter Milan in the near future and was “not happy with the situation” at Chelsea.
“I don’t like it,” Tuchel said in a press conference after the interview had aired.
“But I don’t want to make more out of it than it actually is. It is very easy to take lines out of context.”
Lukaku’s absence for such an important game will surely come as a blow. Chelsea are 11 points behind leaders Manchester City and need to beat Liverpool at home on Sunday to realistically have a chance of competing for the title.
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