Things appear to be going from bad to worse for Romelu Lukaku.
No sooner have some contentious quotes from the player found their way into the public domain, than even more damaging ones are drip fed to the masses.
None of them, quite frankly, portray the Belgian striker in the best light, even if one takes the view that he remains supremely ambitious and, in so doing, it means he won’t make many friends along the way.
When Lukaku arrived back at Stamford Bridge after some while away, it felt for all intents and purposes like a homecoming.
News that he turned down Manchester City the year before joining Chelsea, will surely come as a shock, and even when he did move to West London, the Blues were only his fourth choice apparently.
It all feels like some sort of betrayal.
Goals in his last two games has seen the striker play himself back into some kind of form, but it’s safe to say that, thus far, things haven’t really gone according to plan for both club and player.
Lukaku to Sky: “In summer 2020 I turned down an offer from Manchester City. It was a higher offer than Chelsea’s one. I refused because I couldn’t leave Inter after just one year – it’s the club that saved my career when I was feeling bad at Manchester United”. ? #CFC #MCFC pic.twitter.com/YXxzAoFJJ7
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) December 31, 2021
Considering that Lukaku is Chelsea’s record signing, this entire scenario that is being very publicly played out, is a PR disaster for the West Londoners.
He’s shooting from the lip and then some.
The issue now is whether it’s a situation that can be dealt with swiftly and to the satisfaction of all parties, or if it’s going to fester.
Players and managers don’t have to get on for a team to be successful of course, but if the fan base turn against you, it’s the beginning of the end.