Jose Fonte has already sent Romelu Lukaku warning ahead of Chelsea vs Lille in Champions League

Lille defender and Premier League veteran Jose Fonte has already warned the reigning French champions of Romelu Lukaku's quality ahead of first leg of the Champions League round of 16 tie against Chelsea.

Lukaku, 28, has come in for a lot of criticism in recent times despite playing a crucial role in winning Roman Abramovich his first FIFA Club World Cup title with his goals in the semi-final and final against Al Hilal and Palmeiras respectively.

However, that promising up turn in form hasn't yet transferred to the Premier League with the tight 1-0 Crystal Palace win seeing the £97.5million man touching the ball a mere seven times over the 90 minutes, including one from kick-off in the first half.

In spite of this damning stat, manager Thomas Tuchel has urged his own fanbase not to joke about this at such a critical time for the club where more silverware is up for grabs.

"Ha, what can I do? I don't know. Well, now we have to deal with it, the data is out there and speaks a certain language," Tuchel explained in his pre-match press conference on Monday.

"He was not involved in our game, it's sometimes like this with strikers. If they struggle a bit with self-confidence, if they struggle a little bit to find the space and to get involved against a defensive side, it can be like this.

"It's of course not what we want and not what Romelu wants, but it's also not the time to laugh about him, make jokes about him. He's in the spotlight of course, and we will protect him."

Could the Champions League be the perfect opportunity for Lukaku to hit back at his doubters?

Lille will certainly provide the perfect opportunity for that with the reigning Ligue 1 Champions struggling in the top flight after a blistering 2020/21 saw