Lukaku’s Chelsea future in even more doubt as Loftus-Cheek shines vs Everton

Lukaku snub and what it means for Chelsea future

“Because we brought Jorginho off. We only had three changes,” the reply from Thomas Tuchel when asked about not bringing his almost-£100million striker on when his Chelsea side were desperate for a goal at Goodison Park. The Blues fell behind against Everton on 46 minutes as Richarlison capitalised on some poor defending from Cesar Azpilicueta.

Chelsea need a goal – surely, you look no further than your £100m man sitting down on the bench. Right? Well, not in this case. Tuchel looked further.

The German coach put it down to Jorginho coming off at half-time with an injury, which of course limited the number of changes he could make later on in the match. However, Christian Pulisic and Hakim Ziyech were called upon by the Chelsea head coach rather than Lukaku.

READ MORE: Thomas Tuchel unable to hide full-time anger as Chelsea star goes into the stand against Everton

There was a feeling, particularly in the press box that Lukaku might start against Everton. His former club at his old stomping ground. It could have been the perfect time for the Belgian to get his Chelsea career back on track.

Instead, it was actually the latest sign that Lukaku’s future could well be away from Chelsea despite completing a club record move back to Stamford Bridge just last August. How do Chelsea go about the situation, though?

The Blues may well look to just cut their losses with Lukaku. Signed for £97.5m last summer, realistically, the club are not going to get close to recuperating that sort of money for a striker who has scored just five goals in the Premier League this term.

A loan departure could be on the cards for Lukaku, but that doesn’t really benefit Chelsea. Whichever club decides they want to sign the striker on loan will surely ask for the Blues to cover a hefty percentage of his weekly wage.

Loftus-Cheek a rare positive for Chelsea

There were not many standout performers for Chelsea at all at Goodison Park. One man that was tremendous throughout, though, was Ruben Loftus-Cheek.

The Blues midfielder could genuinely walk away with his head held high after a brilliant display in the centre of the pitch for the visitors. On several occasions, the 26-year-old picked up the ball in a dangerous area when Everton were pressing Chelsea, he would then have a number of players around him trying to rob him of possession, but he simply did not care.

Loftus-Cheek’s ability to drive forward with possession and take Chelsea up the pitch during difficult spells is something only he can consistently do for the Blues. The Chelsea midfielder was recently urged to release the “monster” inside of him by Tuchel – and he certainly did that on Sunday.

Werner and Havertz create Wolves question

The form of Timo Werner and Kai Havertz has been a positive for Chelsea supporters in recent weeks. Sunday, though, saw the German duo far from their best and they both put in below-par displays at Goodison.

It’s hard to remember many times Werner touched the ball, while his Chelsea team-mate Havertz vented his frustration, particularly with Yerry Mina, on a few occasions. It was a bad day at the office for both, with the Blues’ attacking looking rather stale in recent matches.

Next up for Chelsea is a home match against Wolves next weekend, meaning they have a rare midweek of no action. This of course gives Tuchel’s men a chance to rest, but could Havertz and Werner now see their place in the side under threat after the defeat in Liverpool?