A number of Chelsea players, including Romelu Lukaku, have become frustrated under Thomas Tuchel and are ready to seek summer exits, according to reports.
The Blues are still competing in five competitions this campaign, though they have lost pace in the Premier League title race after a poor run of performances and are 10 points adrift of Manchester City despite having played a game more.
There have been some murmurs of discontent around Chelsea recently, with a number of players soon to be out of contract and likely to leave the club.
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Chief among them are Andreas Christensen, Antonio Rudiger and Azpilicueta, with the trio all looking more likely to join a new team rather than extend their contracts.
There are issues at the other end of the pitch too, with Lukaku giving an interview in which he criticised his Tuchel’s formation and said he wanted to return to Inter while he is still in the prime of his career – though he apologised.
But, according to The Athletic, Lukaku’s feelings towards Tuchel and his tactics remain the same, while other attacking players also share his opinion.
The mood in the Chelsea camp among the club’s forwards is said to be very poor with Tuchel blamed for the lack of goals being scored.
Mason Mount and Jorginho have both outscored Lukaku in the league this campaign, who has only netted five times since his move from Inter, while three defenders have scored more goals than Kai Havertz, Hudson-Odoi and Timo Werner.
The Athletic claims Chelsea’s forwards are unhappy with how they are deployed and used by Tuchel, as well as the manager’s ‘brutal’ treatment of them, berating them with huge criticism when they miss chances or make a mistake in matches and training.
Players are reported to be ‘second-guessing themselves’ and afraid to take risks in case they give the ball away and incur the wrath of the German coach.
As a result, a number of Chelsea attackers would be keen to leave in the summer as they are not enjoying their football under Tuchel, while there is also a feeling that they have been lacking consistent roles in the team that could be provided by another team.
