Thomas Tuchel has pardoned star striker Romelu Lukaku and put it back into the squad of Champions League winners Chelsea.
“Lukaku has apologized and is back in the squad,” said the team manager at a press conference on Tuesday.
For him it was important to realize that the excitement “was not intended by Romelu”, stressed Tuchel.
The matter is “not as big as some people would like it to be”. He also had “no doubts at all” about the player’s commitment to the blues.
Tuchel had removed the Belgian international from the squad for the top game last Sunday against Liverpool (2-2) as a disciplinary measure.
Statement by Romelu Lukaku on the club website
In the evening, Lukaku asked for forgiveness on the club website. “I would like to apologize to the fans for the trouble,” said the 28-year-old in a video message: “I will do my best every day to perform on the training ground and make sure we win games.”
It was “not the right moment” for the statements.
On New Year’s Eve, Lukaku said in an interview with “Sky Sport Italia” that he was “not happy” at Chelsea and under Tuchel. He added that he “really hopes” to play for his ex-team Inter Milan again.
Lukaku was the most expensive transfer in the club’s history for 115 million euros from Italy to London last summer. At Chelsea he is a team-mate of the German national players Kai Havertz, Timo Werner and Antonio Rüdiger.
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