Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel said “it is not the time to laugh about” Romelu Lukaku after the £97.5m striker’s recent struggles.
Lukaku touched the ball only seven times in Saturday’s 1-0 win over Crystal Palace, the lowest number any player has managed in a 90-minute Premier League appearance since at least 2003, when that data was first recorded.
“He’s in the spotlight and we’ll protect him. Romelu will always be part of the solution,” Tuchel said.
“Sometimes it’s like this with strikers if they struggle a little bit with self-confidence and to find the space to get involved with a good defensive side.
“Of course it’s not what we want and what Romelu wants but it’s also not the time to laugh about him and make jokes about him.”
Chris Sutton, who scored one goal in 28 games for Chelsea in 1999-2000, told BBC Radio 5 Live’s Monday Night Club: “I think at the weekend he hid.
“He’s lacking confidence - he looks like an unhappy player. He could do so much more for the team.”
The ex-Norwich, Blackburn and Celtic striker Sutton added: “I’ve hid myself in games. Your confidence wanes and you start to hide. You tell yourself you’re not hiding but you are— that was him in a nutshell.
“He didn’t want the ball. It’s a lack of confidence, it’s hesitation, it’s doubt. It’s OK [pundits] blaming other players but he was ambling. He wasn’t being clear in his movements.
“I can’t see them [Lukaku and Tuchel] both being there next season. Something has to give.”
