Thomas Tuchel has huge Romelu Lukaku decision to make after Chelsea’s win over Burnley

Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel has been tinkering with his forward line, but after the emphatic win against Burnley it’s decision time for the German tactician.

Goals from the returning Reece James, Christian Pulisic, and a double from in-form Kai  Havertz gave the Blues a 4-0 win, and their third straight win in the Premier League to tighten their grip on third place.

Coincidentally, Chelsea’s fine form recently has been down to a mobile attacking preference from Thomas Tuchel, who has decided to re-introduce the often difficult to mark Kai Havertz.

After scoring the Champions League winning goal against Manchester City, Havertz retrogressed but looks to have found his finishing touch again, after an impressive outing against Brazilian side ​​Palmeiras where he got the winning goal to win the Club World Cup.

He doubled on that to produce a brilliant performance in the Champions League against Lille before tormenting Liverpool at Wembley, even if the Reds did end up winning the Carabao Cup via a marathon penalty shoot-out.

His two goals against Burnley might be only his fourth in the league this season, but the fact that he makes everyone around him play better will give manager Thomas Tuchel a big decision to make on who is the club’s first choice striker now.

Romelu Lukaku and his new role at Chelsea

When Romelu Lukaku first re-signed for Chelsea in the summer, there was a viral unique video on social media showing when he first visited Stamford Bridge with his team-mates from Belgium, as a youngster with his whole career in-front of him.

He looked star-struck and made a promise to himself that he would one day be playing for the Blues.

He’s had two attempts at it now and it’s fair to say both haven’t gone to plan yet.

When he joined from Inter Milan for a staggering £97.5 million as a club record signing, not many would bet that he would be a on the bench for the Carabao Cup final and at games when Chelsea need to win.

An ill-timed interview with Sky Italy has meant his relationship with the fan base has been bruised if not broken, and his form has at times been lacking the fire power that made him one of the feared and lethal forwards in Italy.

Some say that the system Thomas Tuchel has adopted hasn’t helped his course, but the manager himself admitted Lukaku was not the first big money signing who has has struggled at the club and suggested there was little he could do at the moment.

The Chelsea manager explained: “‘There’s a history of strikers struggling a little bit at Chelsea so it is not the easiest place for strikers obviously.

“I don’t know exactly why the strikers do but it is obviously like this.

“We demand a lot from our strikers in terms of defending. We want to be a physical, hard working group.

“At the moment this is a time where we struggle to make many big chances for our strikers.

“It is also maybe a normal period in a long season. So we are on the subject and well aware and, like always, it is not always one reason for the problem.”

Thomas Tuchel is right to point to the history of the club and its big money signings, but none of those strikers arrived with the expectation around Lukaku.

Throughout the Belgian’s career he has always been the main man, and there is evidence to show that he doesn’t take being relegated to the bench kindly.

It is also true that at the moment Chelsea play better and get better results when the Belgian is one the bench.

This developing situation will be interesting to see how the manager continues to handle Lukaku and what his future will be at the club.

The title challenge has almost evaporated with Manchester City and Liverpool almost impossible to catch but there is still a lot to play for.

Thomas Tuchel’s side are at the quarter final stage of the FA Cup, and have a strong lead going into the second leg of their round of sixteen Champions League tie against Lille.