Chris Sutton reveals why he believes Romelu Lukaku failed to live up to the hype at Chelsea on It's All Kicking Off... and claims there will be no third time lucky for him back at the Bridge

Chris Sutton has revealed the reason why he believes Romelu Lukaku’s career has not met the heights many thought it could.

Lukaku is currently plying his trade back in Italian football with Roma, his second loan spell since re-joining Chelsea in the summer of 2021.

His second crack at the whip at Stamford Bridge did not go to plan, with the Belgian forward leaving for Inter Milan after just one season, and Sutton believes Lukaku's failure was 'largely' down to his own doing due to a lack of fitness levels.

However, his performance for Belgium in their 2-2 draw with England at Wembley, in which he provided a spectacular assist for Youri Tielemans' second goal, sparked debate on Mail Sport's It's All Kicking Off podcast as to why it all went wrong in west London.

'It's a bit of a head scratcher really,' said Chris Sutton speaking to co-host Ian Ladyman.

He then added: 'If you look at Lukaku through patches throughout his career he has been prolific, he has been an enormous handful - he has all the attributes.

'He goes to Chelsea [the second time] and you think "here we go", he scored in his first game, took all the plaudits away at Arsenal.

'You think this is a really important goal for him - [he] hit the ground running second time around - and then, he just fizzled out.

'I don't know if he wasn't in the best condition, in truth, maybe he let himself go a little bit, maybe he lost confidence and he wasn't the same player - hence heading back to Italy. He's done well over there and internationally.

'In many respects you could say, could [Thomas] Tuchel have got more out of him? But I do think a large part of it was down to Lukaku and not possibly looking after himself the way he should have done.' 

Neither Sutton or Ladyman believe that the Belgian striker has a future at the Blues, despite his cryptic response in an interview following the England match.

Ladyman shared: 'He was asked about it [going back to Chelsea] afterwards in the interview area, somebody was congratulating him on his performance and said "do you still feel that you have a point to prove with English football, are you still looking to impress people?"

'And he just laughed and said "you'll have to ask Chelsea" and walked away.

'I'm not suggesting for one minute that Lukaku will play for Chelsea again, I don't think he will.'

Sutton agreed: 'I can't see it being third time lucky for him, I can't see him wanting to entertain Chelsea.'

However, Ladyman did recall Lukaku's fine days in a different blue shirt, citing his spell at Everton, where he scored 87 goals in 166 games in all competitions. 

Mail Sport's Football Editor said: 'The best football I ever saw him play was actually for Everton. He was an absolute handful for Everton, he really did play well when he was on Merseyside and that was what got him his move to [Manchester] United.'

However, Ladyman didn't look back on Lukaku's career at Manchester United in the same light.

'He never looked comfortable at United. His goals record is actually ok, but I think they hide the fact that he never really looked comfortable,' he said.

Lukaku has had his critics in recent years, mainly to do with his conditioning during his latter years at United, and then Chelsea.

This is the reason Sutton, who won the Premier League with Blackburn in 1995, believes his career hasn't been quite as successful as it could have been. 

Sutton explained: 'People have pointed to his lack of fitness levels, he seems to be a player that puts on weight and hasn't always stayed on top of it.

'We know that he is a brilliant goalscorer, I don't think there is any  shame in saying that, but essentially he hasn't looked after himself the way that he should have done.

'I think that has been detrimental to his career at times.'