Chelsea
manager Thomas Tuchel says the focus on striker Romelu Lukaku is "sometimes
not fair".
The Chelsea boss accepted that players who command a large transfer fee will
face scrutiny, but emphasised there are no hard feelings between himself and
Lukaku, who has struggled for form in recent weeks.
"I know he is an important player," Tuchel said of Lukaku. "If you pay a lot
of money these days for one single player, there's a lot of focus on the
player.
"If you allow yourself to zoom a little bit out, he played a lot of matches
from the start for us, consecutive matches."
After scoring on his second Premier League debut for the club against
Arsenal, Lukaku went on to play in Chelsea's next seven league fixtures
before suffering a sprain. The Belgian has scored 10 times in 28 appearances
in all competitions so far this season.
Tuchel went on to compare Lukaku's struggles with Chelsea vice-captain
Jorginho.
"We have, maybe a little bit, the same situation for example with Jorginho,
who is one of our captains and did not play from the beginning lately
because we feel he is a little mentally tired.
"But the focus is hugely on Romelu which I can understand. But the situation
is more or less the same like for Jorginho and that sometimes is not fair
and sometimes it's a bit too much. Both of them understand themselves as
team players.
Tuchel downplayed any notion of there being a rift between himself or
Lukaku.
"The things inside (the club) are very clear and the decisions are made
clear. The players accept (them) and once you play for Chelsea, you accept
that the team goes first. That is why there are no hard feelings, not from
Romelu, not from me and not from anybody else."
A return for Reece James?
Defender Reece James has been an impactful player for Chelsea this season,
having scored five times and provided six assists in all competitions. The
22-year-old suffered a hamstring injury in December though which has since
kept him on the sidelines.
Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel says Reece James will have a late fitness test
before the Watford match on Wednesday
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Tuchel did not rule out the possibility of James starting in Sunday's
Carabao Cup final
However, Tuchel did not rule out the possibility of James returning for the
Carabao Cup final to face Liverpool.
"He looked brilliant in the last two training sessions. Let's wait another
session and let's see if I am crazy enough to just put him on the pitch or
if the reasonable side of me wins in the end," Tuchel said.
"There is still two days to go and then we will take the decision."
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