Hakim Ziyech has insisted no-one should doubt Romelu Lukaku being a success at Chelsea despite the £97.5million striker’s goal drought.
Chelsea striker Lukaku has not scored in the Premier League in this calendar year and has managed just five all season, which is a poor return considering his price tag.
Lukaku has scored in other competitions and for Belgium but is definitely struggling to find form and also fit into the Chelsea set-up since his mega move from Inter Milan last summer.
Chelsea forward Ziyech is close to Lukaku - they are good friends and Ziyech insists the No.9 will come good and defy any doubters who can look at his time at Manchester United after a big-money move to Old Trafford and see a similar story.
Lukaku scored on his second Chelsea debut back in August but since then it has been a tale of frustration with injuries, Covid and also his infamous interview when he admitted he wanted to go back to Italy.
Ziyech said: “Of course we will see his best. He has shown it for years. There is no question of his quality. But I mean, he came here.
“In the beginning it was all good. He came back from injury, he caught Covid. Is there any question about his quality or whatever? He showed it for the last few years. It is just a matter of time.”
Ziyech believes that it is a question of playing to Lukaku’s strengths, but also other teams making it hard for him because they set up to defend.
“If you look at some teams we are playing against, they play in a back five,” said Ziyech. “He is by himself against three defenders. Is that not hard? It doesn’t matter who you are, if you have three defenders of course it is hard to find your space or whatever it is.
“For example he makes an action against one, but the other one is coming as well. He also needs his space for his runs or whatever. It’s quite normal if every time you play against three defenders. It is really difficult at a time when we play football right now. It is hard.
“We have to put everybody in his own qualities and I think that is something we have to work and we still work on. Sometimes in games it’s really good and sometimes a bit less. I think there is still a lot of space to improve.”
Chelsea play Al-Halil in the Club World Cup tonight and Ziyech says the players are driven by the idea of creating history by winning the trophy.
He added: “I think it is one of the biggest cups you can win club wise. You know, you’re not coming here without winning, for example for us, the Champions League. That’s how we see it and if you want to achieve such a big trophy or cup, you know what is coming.
“The champions League was a big one, but this one will be a little bit shorter because it is two games, but it will be intense because you have all the best teams of all over the world.
“You also know it is not for a lot of players to play for this kind of trophy. If you are here like us now there is only one thing, you want to win it.”
