Tuchel urges Werner & Co to match Lukaku after trouble scoring forced £98m move

Thomas Tuchel challenged Timo Werner and Chelsea’s other goal-shy strikers to match Romelu Lukaku if they want to be part of his title chase.

The German coach aims to start his £97million signing in next weekend’s London derby at Arsenal. Lukaku missed his side’s emphatic opening-day victory as he is isolating following his move from Inter Milan.

And Tuchel has made it clear that Werner and Co are fighting for their places.

‘Why Lukaku? We had some trouble in scoring goals consistently with our attackers,’ he said.

‘I think Romelu gives us experience and personality. He is used to scoring, he is used to playing in big clubs and used to handling the pressure.’

Tuchel believes he can only improve on last season’s Champions League success by winning the Premier League.

Chelsea finished fourth last season, but were only eighth- highest scorers with 58 goals. Werner scored a mere six times after his £45m move from RB Leipzig.

The German led the attack in yesterday’s win over Palace but again stumbled under the pressure of being the team’s main scorer. Wing-back Marcos Alonso, Christian Pulisic and defender Trevoh Chalobah were on target.

With Hakim Ziyech injured, Kai Havertz, Callum Hudson-Odoi and Tammy Abraham all had to make do with places on the bench.

Alonso is certainly playing his part as the highest goalscoring defender in the league, with 22 in his five years at Chelsea.

Tuchel hopes Lukaku’s arrival will help the forwards, saying: ‘He can take pressure off young players like Kai Havertz, Timo Werner, Christian Pulisic and that can be a huge boost for them. It is a good mix.’