Romelu Lukaku has caused quite a stir with his recent interview.
The Chelsea striker admitted he wasn’t particularly happy at Stamford Bridge by saying: "I’m not happy with the situation and that’s only natural. The head coach has decided to play a different system and I mustn’t let up, I need to keep working hard and be professional.
"I’m not happy with the situation but I’m a grafter and I mustn’t let up."
The interview took place three weeks ago and Lukaku has since started scoring once again. His mood has no doubt improved since then but will be no consolation for his manager, Thomas Tuchel.
Tuchel was asked about Lukaku’s comments and the German tried his hardest not to sound too annoyed.
"We don't like it, of course, because it brings noise that we don't need and is not helpful," Tuchel told reporters.
"But on the other side, we don't want to make more out of it than it actually is. You know very well how it is: it's very easy to take lines out of context, to shorten lines to make headlines, then realise later it's not so bad or what he meant.”
What happens now?
Well, it seems highly unlikely Lukaku will be sold in January but his long-term future at the club must now be in doubt.
It’ll certainly be interesting to see how the Chelsea fans react the next time he steps onto the pitch.
While the striker may not have been erased from Chelsea’s squad just yet, supporters think the club tried to erase him from a ‘Happy New Year’ post.
Chelsea’s official Twitter account posted out a Happy New Year message to their fans, which included images of players from both their men’s and women’s sides.
But many supporters noticed that the club’s record-signing was just about the smallest image on there. Lukaku was placed underneath N’Golo Kante’s armpit at the bottom of the image and many believe it was a deliberate act.
Did Chelsea make Lukaku purposely small in New Year post?
It’s now up to Lukaku to win over the Chelsea supporters once again.
He will have the perfect opportunity to do just that in January.
On Sunday, Chelsea take on Liverpool in a huge clash at Stamford Bridge. Then there are the two legs of their Carabao Cup semi final against Tottenham before they face Manchester City in the Premier League.
They then face Spurs once again in the league.
Time for Lukaku to show everyone why Chelsea paid almost £100 million for him in the summer.