“It is not a normal situation.” Belgium’s Roberto Martinez hints Romelu Lukaku may need to leave Chelsea before World Cup

“It is not a normal situation.” Belgium’s Roberto Martinez hints Romelu Lukaku may need to leave Chelsea before World Cup

Romelu Lukaku has been linked with a move away from Chelsea next summer, and now Belgium manager Roberto Martinez has hinted that the striker may be forced to leave the club.

Chelsea paid £97.5 million to re-sign their former star this summer, and the Belgian was viewed as the missing piece for Thomas Tuchel.

But that hasn’t been the case, as his second spell at Stamford Bridge has been marred by scandal rather than triumph.

Lukaku may have lost his starting spot in Tuchel’s lineup as Kai Havertz continues to lead the line, but the Belgian is still a sure bet for the national squad. 

Martinez, on the other hand, has suggested that Lukaku consider quitting Chelsea before the World Cup in November.

Belgium finished third in the World Cup for the first time in their history in 2018, and they’ll be trying to go all the way again in Qatar at the end of the year. The Red Devils’ ‘golden age’ is coming to an end, and Martinez has hinted that Lukaku may contemplate his future in the summer, saying, “We always speak.”

Martinez said: “We are talking about players, like Romelu, who have got over 100 caps and are part of this group of players who know the national team inside out. I’m not going to judge or assess the condition of any player until after the summer because it is not a normal situation.

“It is still seven months to the World Cup and probably you will go into the details of how a player feels when it gets closer to it than now. But there will be a lot of players who change clubs or are going to feel in a different way in the summer.

“Romelu needs to be assessed on how he feels in September, the same way Eden Hazard does and some others. But he is one of the players for whom the summer could be a big moment for their careers.”

Martinez claims to have close relationships with all of his players, but he has known Lukaku since signing him for Everton in 2014, and he continued, “We always speak. I have a very close relationship with all my players.

“I would never tell a player what to do but we always share thoughts. At the moment Romelu is in a good place. He is so committed. He was delighted to win the Club World Cup and the next step is to finish the season strong with Chelsea and make sure he can feel very important.”

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“It is not a normal situation.” Belgium’s Roberto Martinez hints Romelu Lukaku may need to leave Chelsea before World Cup