Chelsea striker Romelu Lukaku has been compared to Fernando Llorente and slammed as ‘dull’ by Paolo di Canio amid his disappointing run of form.
The Belgian has not scored in any of his last six matches in all competitions for the Blues following his bright start to life back at Stamford Bridge.
After his £98m switch to Chelsea was confirmed, Lukaku netted four goals in as many games, finding the net on his debut against Arsenal.
He then followed that up with a brace against Aston Villa and the winning strike against Zenit St Petersburg as the Blues kicked off their Champions League title defence.
The goals have dried up for Lukaku since though, having failed to find the net in each of his last four Premier League games, whilst he was also substituted off in the recent 1-0 win against Brentford.
Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel has suggested that Lukaku looked ‘tired’ against the Bees but Di Canio has criticised the 28-year-old and his lack of goals since his move from Inter Milan.
Introduction of safe standing, the effects of Newcastle's takeover, the world cup in Qatar - have your say on football's biggest issues in the survey below.
Talking to Sky Sports Italia’s Calcio Club, he said: “I heard [Inter icon turned pundit Giuseppe] Bergomi comparing [Victor] Osimhen and Lukaku. But Osimhen has a different spirit, he’s not dull like him.
“When the difficulty increased he scored no goals in five games with Chelsea. And it’s not Chelsea’s fault, they are top of the table even without his goals.”
He continued: “Lukaku does not score. Lukaku is a functional player, just as [Fernando] Llorente was in Antonio Conte’s Juventus.
“Even if Lukaku is stronger than Llorente, Lukaku is still functional to a certain type of game.”
Llorente turned out for both Swansea City and Spurs in the Premier League, netting just 13 goals for the latter over two seasons.
