Chelsea star striker Romelu Lukaku found himself in some hot water after a weeks-old interview with Sky Sports Italy made the rounds on social media. During the interview, Lukaku was critical of his return to Chelsea and the tactics being deployed by manager Thomas Tuchel. Additionally, the Belgian international spoke far too fondly of Inter Milan, his former club, starting on various occasions how he desires to play for the Italian side again in the future.

After fans caught wind of his thoughtless comments, Lukaku became public enemy No. 1 at Stamford Bridge. He met with Tuchel on Monday to discuss his controversial comments, and has now released an official apology to the fans and the club, via Fabrizio Romano.

 

Lukaku enjoyed two prolific seasons in Italy's top flight. He started 65 matches for Internazionale across 2019-20 and 2020-21, scoring 47 goals during that span and assisting 13. His sensational play up front helped Inter Milan secure the Serie-A title in 2021, though he was then told the club could no longer afford to pay his wages, prompting his return to the Premier League.

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Since rejoining his boyhood club at Chelsea, Lukaku has struggled to find consistency in 2021.  Across 13 appearances in the Premier League this season, Lukaku's managed just eight starts and has five goals and zero assists across a total of 830 minutes on the pitch.

He's picked up his form of late, however, netting goals against in each of his previous two Premier League appearances. He was not on the team sheet for Chelsea's bout with Liverpool over the weekend, as part of the discipline stemming from his interview, but it appears that he and Tuchel have since buried the hatchet.