Chris Sutton has revealed the reason why he believes Romelu Lukaku’s career has not reached the heights many thought.
Lukaku is currently on loan in Italian football with Roma, his second loan spell since rejoining Chelsea in the summer of 2021.
His second crack of the whip at Stamford Bridge did not go to plan – the Belgian striker left for Inter Milan after just one season – and Sutton believes Lukaku failure It was “largely” due to his own actions due to lack of fitness levels.
However, his performance for Belgium in the 2-2 draw with England at Wembley, in which he provided a spectacular assist for Youri Tielemans’ second goal, sparked debate about Mail Sport’s It’s All Kicking Off Podcast of why everything went wrong in west London.
“It’s a bit disconcerting really,” said Chris Sutton speaking to co-host Ian Ladyman.
Chris Sutton revealed he believes Romelu Lukaku’s conditioning potentially led to Chelsea’s failure
Lukaku only played 44 games in his second spell at the Blues before being loaned out.
He currently plies his trade at Roma and his season-long loan will soon come to an end.
The 30-year-old provided an assist in Belgium’s 2-2 draw against England on Tuesday night.
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He then added: “If you look at Lukaku throughout his career, he’s been prolific, he’s been a huge handful, he’s got all the attributes.”
“He goes to Chelsea (the second time) and you think ‘here we go’,” he scored in his first game and won all the applause at Arsenal.
“You think this is a really important goal for him – (he) started running for the second time – and then he just failed.
“I don’t know if he wasn’t in the best condition, the truth is that maybe he got carried away a little, maybe he lost confidence and he wasn’t the same player anymore, that’s why he returned to Italy. He has done well there and internationally.
‘In many ways you could say, could (Thomas) Tuchel have gotten more out of him? But I think a lot of this was because Lukaku didn’t take care of himself like he should have.”
Lukaku had spells at Everton and Manchester United between his two spells at Chelsea.
Neither Sutton nor Ladyman believe Lukaku will play for Chelsea for the third time
Neither Sutton nor Ladyman believe the Belgian striker has a future at the Blues, despite his cryptic response in an interview after the England game.
Ladyman shared: “He was asked about it (returning to Chelsea) afterwards in the interview area, someone congratulated him on his performance and said: ‘Do you still feel like you have something to prove with English football?’ To impress people?”
And he just laughed and said, “You’ll have to ask Chelsea” and walked away.
“I’m not suggesting for a minute that Lukaku will play for Chelsea again, I don’t think he will.”
Sutton agreed: “I don’t see it being the third time lucky for him, I don’t see him wanting to entertain Chelsea.”
However, Ladyman did remember Lukaku’s good days in a different blue shirt, citing his time at Everton, where he scored 87 goals in 166 games in all competitions.
Mail Sport’s football editor said: “The best football I saw him play was actually for Everton. It was absolutely difficult for Everton, he really played well when he was on Merseyside and that’s what led to his move to (Manchester). ) United.
However, Ladyman did not view Lukaku’s Manchester United career in the same way.
“He never looked comfortable at United. “His goal record is actually okay, but I think it hides the fact that he never really looked comfortable,” he said.
Ian Ladyman believes Lukaku’s best football days came on Merseyside, at Everton
Lukaku has had criticism in recent years, mainly related to his conditioning during his final years at United and then Chelsea.
This is why Sutton, who won the Premier League with Blackburn in 1995, believes his career has not been as successful as it could have been.
Sutton explained: “People have pointed out his lack of fitness, he seems to be a player who puts on weight and hasn’t always kept up with it.”
“We know he’s a brilliant goalscorer, I don’t think it’s embarrassing to say it, but essentially he hasn’t looked after himself like he should.”
“I think that’s been detrimental to his career at times.”