With many suggesting that Chelsea should sell Romelu Lukaku in the next transfer window, manager Thomas Tuchel has made a big admission about the Blues' record signing.
Plenty of excitement surrounded the Belgium international's return to Stamford Bridge from Italian champions Inter Milan last year, although some did hold reservations over his mammoth price tag.
Lukaku was re-signed by Chelsea for a reported €100 million (R1.6 billion), but has battled to cement a spot in Tuchel's strongest XI, having netted just 12 times in 37 appearances across all competitions so far this season.
In a post-match press conference ahead of Chelsea's Premier League encounter against Arsenal on Wednesday, the German tactician admitted his coaching staff did not anticipate things going this way, but added that they will not give up on Lukaku.
"For us, it is clear, we can play with Romelu and we can be very strong with Romelu and we proved it," he said, according to football.london.
"And we will prove it if he is involved and keeps involved mentally, and he stays involved in the situation to go through this, he can grow from it and come back stronger.
"It is always like this and it is for sure disappointing for him and not what we expected, not what we expected at the moment, but it is not finished and we will not give in.
"We never give in with any players and we never give up. We will push him, we will push as far as we can and as long as the player stays involved in the mentality that is needed to bring a team forward, he can still be a crucial player."
Last season's UEFA Champions League winners host Mikel Arteta's Gunners in league action on Wednesday night, with the Blues currently third on the table, eight points ahead of Arsenal, who are in fifth place.
While Tuchel's hopes of winning the league title will not be high given the form of Liverpool and Manchester City, he will be hoping for a strong finish to the 2021/22 campaign.
