Liverpool legend questions Chelsea's Abraham sale as Lukaku struggles
Martin Macdonald
- 28 Jan 2022 12:01 GMT
- 3 min read
Liverpool legend Ian Rush believes Chelsea may be regretting allowing Tammy Abraham to leave the club following Romelu Lukaku's struggles since returning to the Premier League.
In the summer of 2021, Chelsea broke their transfer record to bright Lukaku back to Stamford Bridge, signing the Belgian from Inter for around £97.5 million.
Though he started brightly, Lukaku's season has tailed off due to form and injury issues, while he risked the wrath of the Chelsea fans by expressing regret at leaving Inter in an interview with Sky Sports.
Lukaku's arrival in the summer marked the departure of Abraham, who joined Jose Mourinho's Roma.
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While Lukaku has eight goals in all competitions this season, Abraham has 11.
Rush has questioned the Belgian's recent performances but believes he has what it takes to get back to his best under Thomas Tuchel.
"I’ve been watching Romelu Lukaku’s progress since he patched things up with Thomas Tuchel but he doesn’t seem to have rediscovered his form for Chelsea as I expected," he told Gambling.com
"I see it as a slightly similar situation to the one Harry Kane was in at the start of the season.
"But Kane is starting to score goals again now and I wonder will Lukaku go the same way once he gets some minutes under his belt.
"We know he can score goals because he’s done it at every level already, but he’s got to build up his fitness because he doesn’t look sharp.
"You could even argue that he’s trying a bit too hard. I’ve been in that position before where nothing is going in for you and then you start to overwork which makes matters worse."
Do Chelsea regret selling Abraham?
Abraham has been impressing with Roma, and Rush reckons that Chelsea may be questioning allowing the England international to leave was the correct decision.
"Some Chelsea fans may be wondering why they sold Tammy Abraham and brought in Lukaku," Rush continued.
"Abraham is scoring goals for fun in Italy, although it has to be said Serie A is not as strong as the Premier League these days.
"But the big difference between Abraham and Lukaku right now is that the former is enjoying his football.
"Jose Mourinho has been showing Abraham some love, which is really important for a striker, while Lukaku and Tuchel haven’t exactly seen eye to eye.
"It’s important for Lukaku to just knuckle down and stay patient, I’ve no doubt his quality will shine through for Chelsea sooner or later."
