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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Sport
Tom Blow

Thierry Henry questions Chelsea for signing Romelu Lukaku but pinpoints "solution"

Thierry Henry has questioned Chelsea's decision to re-sign Romelu Lukaku.

The Belgian striker, 28, returned to Stamford Bridge last summer after completing a club-record £97.5million transfer from Italian champions Inter Milan.

Since then, Lukaku has scored just 10 goals in 28 appearances for the Blues and was dropped for their Champions League victory against Lille on Tuesday evening.

Lukaku was billed as the missing piece in Chelsea's Premier League puzzle, but Arsenal legend Henry has revealed he was always concerned about the transfer.

"Right from the start I raised a question to myself, would he fit into this team?" Henry told CBS on Tuesday evening.

Will Romelu Lukaku be a success at Chelsea? Let us know in the comments below!

Romelu Lukaku was dropped for Chelsea's game against Lille on Tuesday (Getty Images)

"As a coach when you go and get Lukaku, you will have to make him adapt to how you play, or you change your way to suit him. I didn’t think that would happen.

"For Rom to adapt to the way Chelsea play, it takes time, it’s not an easy one.

"Is it normal that he only has seven touches [against Crystal Palace ]? No, that’s also not normal, regardless if the coach likes you or not. That shouldn’t happen.

"They need to move forward on that but it’s a tough one to read. I’ll be honest with you, I don’t know how that happens in 90 minutes. But what’s the solution?"

Answering his own question, Henry said: "The solution is for him to find a solution to make sure he can adapt to the way they play.

"They like to press, to be active and to change the front three. He likes to stay in the middle so it makes it very difficult for him to adapt to the situation.

"But again, why did you go and get him?"

Lukaku is one of the most prolific strikers in European football, scoring 64 goals in 95 outings in all competitions during his two-year stint at Inter under Antonio Conte.

He also has a good record in the Premier League - scoring 118 goals in the division to date - but struggled during his two-year spell at Manchester United.

Lukaku also failed to shine during his initial stint at Chelsea, scoring no goals from 15 appearances in all competitions.

Former England manager Fabio Capello has also questioned Chelsea's decision to bring Lukaku back to the Premier League.

Lukaku was prolific under now Tottenham manager Antonio Conte at Inter Milan (REUTERS)

"Lukaku fit perfectly into Conte's counter-attacking style at Inter, because there were lots of spaces," Capello told Sky in Italy.

"He had this physical strength and pace that allowed him to flatten the defenders in Serie A.

"However, Chelsea play this very different type of football with lots of short passes and Lukaku doesn't have the same spaces to move in.

"He also finds that in England the defenders have a similar physicality to him and hold out more. Lukaku had this power and space to run at defenders and turn the game around."

Discussing his decision to drop Lukaku, Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel admitted he was reluctant to put the player "into the next fire " against Lille.

"It was the moment to take a step back," added Tuchel. "That was the decision... we had a strong win but almost every question is about Romelu. The focus is huge."

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