Chelsea head coach Thomas Tuchel has confirmed that his players have rejected the number nine shirt proud to the start of the new season. According to the German tactician, his players believe the number nine shirt is a curse jersey and players have not performed well in it. The last player to wear the number nine shirt for Chelsea football club was Romelu Lukaku.
The Belgian striker was signed from inter Milan in the 2021 summer transfer for a record fee of €113M. Romelu Lukaku had an amazing two-season spell with the Italian giants from 2019 to 2021 helping them to win the Italian scudetto in the 2020/21 season. Lukaku scored 47 Seria A goals in two seasons for Inter Milan.
Chelsea after winning the 2021 UEFA Champions League without a proper number nine upfront, the west London club thought it good to bring in a typical number nine who will bang in goals for them to win the Premier League the following season. Chelsea and Tuchel then settled on their former Striker Romelu Lukaku as the ideal man to lead the lines for ‘The Blues’.
Romelu Lukaku had a good start in the 2021/22 EPL season scoring twice against London rivals Arsenal in their opening league match. The 29-year-old Belgian could not continue with his consistent performance as the league progressed losing his position to Kai Havertz.
Some Chelsea fans and football pundits believed it was because of the jersey number he wore that led to his poor performance in the season. The conspiracy theory continues as top strikers like Fernando Torres, Hernan Crespo and Franco Di Santo could not shine in Chelsea’s number nine shirt and Lukaku has become the latest player to join that group.
According to Thomas Tuchel, he was told that the Chelsea number nine shirt is a cursed jersey and whoever wears it is likely to suffer the consequence.
Chelsea is likely to play the new season without the number nine shirt being used and if it continues like this, it is likely the west Londoners will retire the number nine shirt.
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