‘We have zero problem’ but no more interviews for Lukaku, jokes Tuchel

Romelu Lukaku’s ill-advised — or perhaps to be more accurate, a completely un-advised* — interview a few weeks ago has caused quite a stir with its release, even by Lukaku’s own loose-lipped standards. It might even make you go ... whoa, what’s happening here?

But not to worry, Chelsea head coach Thomas Tuchel has a step-by-step plan to avoid any repeat or further shenanigans, and get the best out of our 28-year-old prodigal son at the same time.

“Training, training, playing. Training, playing, training, sleeping, eating good, training, playing, sleeping, eat good, drink a lot of water, sleep, train and don’t give interviews.”

All joking aside Tuchel has already made it quite clear that the matter will be handled internally, adding that he’s not going to base his relationship with one of his players based on comments made in the media — and if Lukaku does indeed have a problem, then it’s something that needs to be brought up in the appropriate setting to be addressed meaningfully and reasonably.

“We have chats with a lot of players, how we want them to have in position, where they should be when we arrive in certain spaces. This is absolutely a super-normal chat and we have it with Romelu.

“[So] I don’t enter in these discussions and like ‘oh, there is something going on’ because there is absolutely zero going on. That’s why I don’t need to understand why he did it. It does not make it better, but that is my situation. And I will not enter in finding reasons now to understand the interview, I don’t want to because I don’t have to and I don’t have a reason.

“I don’t go now into chats and think ‘did he mean it the other way?’ We have zero problem and, ok, he gave an interview so maybe he has a problem so he needs to speak up. I don’t have one.”

-Thomas Tuchel; source: Football.London

We can only hope that after Sunday’s game, all we’ll be talking about is the football.

(And certainly not some silly transfer rumors, even.)

*and it didn’t even have its supposedly intended effect of placating Inter fans