Romelu Lukaku declared he is "not happy" at Chelsea and aimed a swipe at Thomas Tuchel's tactics as the crisis at Stamford Bridge intensifies in a recent interview.
Lukaku, 28, joined the Blues in a club-record £97.5million transfer from Inter Milan less than five months ago but he is already dreaming of a return to the Italian giants in the future and regrets the nature of his San Siro exit.
The Belgian has been a hit when available this season, scoring five goals in eight Premier League starts.
However, Lukaku's impact has been limited by injuries and coronavirus, while Chelsea manager Tuchel has frequently left him out of the starting XI even when he has been available.
The former Manchester United and Everton striker opened the scoring in Wednesday's clash with Brighton but was disconsolate after Chelsea threw away victory at the death to drop points for the third time in four games and give up more ground in the title race.
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In an explosive interview with Sky Sport Italia, believed to have been held a few weeks ago, Lukaku vented his frustrations with his current responsibilities under Tuchel and repeatedly admitted his unhappiness with "the situation" at Stamford Bridge.
He said: "Physically I'm fine, even better than before. After two years in Italy, in which I worked a lot at Inter with trainers and nutritionists, I am physically fine. But I'm not happy with the situation, this is normal.
"I think the coach has chosen to play with another system, I just have to not give up and continue to work and be a professional.
"I am not happy with the situation, but I am a worker and I must not give up."
The first quotes from Lukaku's bombshell interview have emerged just days after he demanded more "clarity" from Tuchel due to uncertainty over his role in the Chelsea attack.
He also opened up on his lingering regret about the way in which he departed Inter before promising he would return to the Nerazzurri in the future.
"I think everything that happened was not supposed to happen like this," he added.
Read more: Lukaku's demands to Tuchel after bombshell Chelsea comments emerge
"How I left Inter, how I communicated with the fans, this bothers me because it is not the right time now, but even when I left it was not the right time.
"Now I think it is right to speak because I have always said that I have Inter in my heart, I will return to play there, I really hope so.
"I am in love with Italy, this is rightly the time to talk and let people know what really happened without talking badly about people because I am not like that."
