Chelsea's £47.5m Romelu Lukaku fix revealed for Thomas Tuchel after Crystal Palace performance

Is it time to swap Chelsea's £97.5 million investment for their £47.5 million German? There are not many points to defend for either player, but one thing is for sure; Thomas Tuchel has a difficult job on his hands.

Romelu Lukaku has started in every single Chelsea game since the 1st of January. The last 10 matches have placed the Belgian in the eye of the media for scrutiny, and the verdict is not so positive. You can blame the system, blame the players around him or you can blame the manager for not starting his second option.

It sounds crazy, but it’s time to unleash turbo Timo Werner and try something new.

Chelsea played Crystal Palace in their first Premier League match in a month. Though the Blues stole the three points at Selhurst Park, the performance told a different story. It was evident that the boys were still easing themselves back into intense football, following their week break after the Club World Cup final. However, there is no excuse for the lack of attacking threat from Romelu Lukaku.

The general consensus around the Chelsea fan base is that Lukaku is not even trying. He appears to be hiding from the limelight, not being in positions where he can receive the ball. Thank goodness that the wizard Hakim Ziyech was able to bail out the Blues in a must-win match.

Normally I’d defend Lukaku and call for changes within those around him, but after registering just 7 touches in the entire 90 minutes that he played, I have no more excuses.

According to Opta Joe, Lukaku had just two touches in the first half - one of those being from kick-off. This is recorded as the fewest in a single Premier League game for a player with 90+ minutes since this type of data became available in 2003. It started off as just a