Chelsea isn’t predictable to defeat because of their forwards romelu lukaku says glen johnson

Glen Johnson fears Chelsea become ‘too predictable’ to play against when Romelu Lukaku leads the line.

The Belgian completed a club record £97.5m return to the Blues in the summer but has endured a season of mixed fortunes so far.

Despite a promising start under Thomas Tuchel he’s only bagged five league goals and also had to settle for a spell on the sidelines after voicing his frustrations in an interview.

Tuchel has plenty of attacking options at his disposal that has also seen Kai Havertz lead the line on occasions – a player former Blues defender Johnson highly rates.

‘It depends who you’re playing against. I think [Hakim] Ziyech has to be in there,’ Johnson told Metro.co.uk, in an interview courtesy of Squawka.

‘I like [Christian] Pulisic, I’d have Pulisic in there for me and I’d probably have Havertz when he’s just wandering around.

‘I just think sometimes when Lukaku is there they’re just too predictable and of course for centre-halves you know where Lukaku is so it’s not hard to get close to him.

‘I just think with Havertz wandering around… he’s got to pull defenders out, centre-halves don’t want want to move too far out of their slot so I just think they look better that way.’

Tuchel has a tough job on his hands in keeping players happy and giving them regular minutes given the depth he has in his squad.

But with Chelsea still competing in the FA Cup and the Champions League there will be plenty of opportunities for rotation.

‘Tuchel wanted to be a manager of a top club so that’s what you’re going to get,’ Johnson added.