Chelsea Aren’t Using Lukaku The Right Way, Says Conte
Antonio Conte has posited that Chelsea have not yet found the right way to use Romelu Lukaku.
The Belgium international opted to take in a second spell at Chelsea this summer, joining on a mammoth £97.5m deal from Inter Milan.
Lukaku started brightly on his return to Stamford Bridge, scoring four goals in his first four appearances for Thomas Tuchel’s side.
The former Everton striker has since drawn blanks in each of his last four appearances across all competitions, with the latest coming against Juventus in the UEFA Champions League on Wednesday as Chelsea lost 1-0.
Conte has been widely credited with transforming Lukaku’s game when he signed him from Manchester United for Inter Milan in the summer of 2019.
In two seasons at the San Siro, Lukaku scored 47 goals in 72 appearances in Serie A and helped the Nerazzurri win the Scudetto last season.
The former Chelsea manager believes his former side are not doing enough to bring the best out of Belgium’s all-time top scorer.
“I think he can still do better, above all with his technique. He is already at a very high level, but a player must keep improving until the day he retires,” Conte told Sky Sport Italia.
“During the game, there are moments when Lukaku needs to be turned on, but other than that he is one of the toughest forwards to play against, because he can do damage in any area of the pitch.
“If you have a centre-forward like that, you need to use him and I don't think Chelsea have quite figured out how to use him yet.
“Last season, they didn't have a proper centre-forward, so they rotated positions, whereas Romelu is a real reference point in attack. If they can figure out how to use Lukaku, then Chelsea can become the team to beat in the Champions League this season.”
