Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel has admitted Romelu Lukaku’s return to the Stamford Bridge has not yielded the fruits that were envisaged but reckons things are likely to change in the future. Lukaku rejoined the reigning European champions after a stellar season with Inter Milan but after a fine start to life in England, the Belgian international has struggled for form.

The 28-year-old has mustered 12 goals in 36 appearances for Chelsea and has further dropped down the pecking order to underline his struggle.

He recently received more stick after he missed a good goal scoring opportunity when Chelsea stumbled to a 3-1 home loss to Real Madrid in the UEFA Champions League.

Reacting to Lukaku’s miss in midweek, Tuchel was protective of his striker and stressed the former Manchester United was brought in for a purpose.

“We can’t blame Romelu,” Tuchel stated as quoted by GOAL ahead of his side’s trip to Southampton this weekend. “Among other things, he entered at 3-1 [down], even if he then missed a good chance.”

“Lukaku didn’t destabilise us. He is a professional and recently trained very well. We bought [him] because we believed and still believe in him.

Tuchel was however confident that despite the struggles of Lukaku, he will come good in the future.

“Of course, the marriage hasn’t gone well so far. We have to admit it. But it’s not over – in football, everything can change in an instant.”

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