Petr Cech believes Romelu Lukaku can rescue his Chelsea career and have a ‘strong’ campaign next season despite the striker being linked with a move away.
Lukaku, 29, joined the Blues for £97.5million from Inter Milan last year but failed to make a mark in the Premier League, scoring just eight goals.
It has been reported the Belgian wants a return to Inter this summer, with the Serie A side hoping to secure him on a loan deal.
However, Cech, the former Chelsea goalkeeper who is now a technical and performance advisor at the club, thinks Lukaku can put his struggles behind him at Stamford Bridge and still be a success.
Speaking to Sky Sports, he said: ‘I personally believe he will have a great season. Last season we seen how strong he can be at the beginning when he came.
‘But unfortunately, the long term injury he sustained in the game against (Aston) Villa slowed everything down and then he had Covid as well.
‘I think we could see towards the end of the season, when he was fit and ready to go again, how strong he is. I have full confidence he will bounce back and have a strong season.’
After scoring 64 goals in two seasons for Inter, much was expected of Lukaku when he made the move to west London last year
However, a strong start to the campaign quickly dissipated before he was dropped to the bench by Thomas Tuchel.
The striker struggled to regain his place from Kai Havertz up front and finished with just 15 goals in all competitions last season – his lowest haul since 2019.
Lukaku’s struggles have instigated Chelsea’s search for a new centre-forward, with Bayern Munich’s Robert Lewandowski believed to be among the club’s targets.
In May, Tuchel explained his side needed to be more effective in the box and hinted he would aim to sign new forwards this summer.
He said: ‘If we stick to the group then we will try to solve it with these players.
‘Is it necessary to bring more offensive players around the box to create more distractions, to create more space for each other? We will ask that question.’
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