Thomas Tuchel stance on Romelu Lukaku at Chelsea is perfect but Harry Kane transfer threat looms

The curse of the No.9 at Chelsea has resurfaced. Confidence issues seem to be an eminent issue with Chelsea’s past strikers and the situation with Romelu Lukaku is now no different. It remains one of football's great mysteries as to why so many of Chelsea’s past strikers have struggled.

For Lukaku, it’s not a lack of game time that’s hindering his performance. The rocky relationship with the fans is one factor at play here. but his performance levels have dipped to a level that supports could never have imagined when he returned to Stamford Bridge last summer.

There are calls to find a replacement in the next close-season transfer window but will that solve the attacking crisis that the Blues are seemingly regularly faced with? Harry Kane's situation at Tottenham will not be lost on Chelsea, nor Thomas Tuchel - especially following his masterful performance against Manchester City - but I’m not sure if even Alan Shearer in his heyday could solve this issue.

Tuchel is one of the most candid Chelsea managers that I have witnessed. He sees an issue and faces it head-on. He prefers to answer questions as straightforward as he can so it was no surprise that he did not swerve the issue regarding Lukaku and his anonymous performance at Crystal Palace in his post-match press conference.

When asked how to get more touches from Lukaku, he responded firmly in support of the Belgian.

“It's not what we want or Romelu wants but it's also not the time to laugh about him and makes jokes about him. He's in the spotlight but we will protect him.”

One option for Chelsea would be to cash in on their big-money purchase from last year in the summer transfer window if they can find a willing buyer at a price that makes sense. Accept any