“The situation has got out of hand” – Ex-coach claims Romelu Lukaku’s Chelsea journey ‘has gone off the rails’ 

Romelu Lukaku's former coach Ariel Jacobs has said that the Belgian international's 'situation has gotten out of hand' at Chelsea after he was dropped from the Champions League game against Lille.

Thomas Tuchel decided not to field Lukaku to the 2-0 win over Lille in the Champions League despite bringing off Mateo Kovacic and Hakim Ziyech in the second half.

Lukaku also had a rather poor outing against Crystal Palace last week, registering only seven touches in the entire game.

The Belgian made his Premier League club comeback after Chelsea agreed to a £97.5 deal with Inter Milan to bring him to the club.

However, Lukaku's Chelsea journey suffered a blow after his explosive interview with Sky Italia, criticizing Tuchel's system at Stamford Bridge and expressing a desire to return to Inter Milan sometime in the future.

Speaking on Lukaku's disappointing situation at Stamford Bridge, his former manager at Anderlecht, Ariel Jacobs, said:

"It has gone off the rails. The situation has got out of hand," Jacobs told Het Nieuwsblad. In that sense, I could understand Tuchel’s decision, but if it really had an effect?''

"In the next games, all eyes will be on Romelu again. The only thing that can really turn the tide is a good run of games. With lots of goals. But give Romelu a decent chance, and he’ll also hit the back of the net."

Jacobs lauded the Belgian international for his striking instincts and stated that the player has a strong mentality to recover from the surrounding negativity and rise to elite levels again. He added:

"Did I make the right choice? It is inevitable that Romelu asks himself that question these days. But on the other hand, he is mentally very strong. And he is a top striker. Someone like that always comes back on top. Also, at Stamford Bridge, yes: Romelu can handle that kind of football, I’m convinced of that."

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UK MP wants Chelsea's Russian owner to be removed, assets freezed

United Kingdom MP Chris Bryant has said in Parliament that Chelsea's Russian owner Abramovich's assets in the country must be frozen, citing alleged links with the Russian state.

British Member of Parliament Bryant made the appeal based on the 2019 incident where the Home Office identified Abramovich as having links with the Russian state as well as to corrupt activity and practices.