It has been quite a disappointing season so far for Romelu Lukaku, who joined AS Roma on a season-loan from Chelsea last summer. The English club agreed with the Giallorossi for a loan with an option to buy included in the deal, since the Blues needed to let Lukaku leave thanks to all their signings, while AS Roma reached an agreement with Big Rom after he refused to rejoin Inter.
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With the side coached by Jose Mourinho, Lukaku scored 14 goals so far in all competitions in 24 games played. Looking at the numbers, Lukaku's season has not been that bad so far, but analyzing deeper, he can't be too happy about his impact in Mourinho's team. He scored some key goals, that's true, but as Sunday's 3-1 defeat against AC Milan showed, the way AS Roma play doesn't help Lukaku to perform at his best.
Sometimes he looks a bit alone in the attack, and the duo with Paulo Dybala was often interrupted due to the injuries that affected the Argentinian star through the season. Lukaku arrived after everyone expected a permanent move back to Inter. The Nerazzurri were left speechless and decided to immediately change their summer plans, while Lukaku later agreed a deal with AS Roma and joined his former coach.
Big Rom probably showed his best potential when he was coached by Antonio Conte at Inter during the 2020-21 season, who played with a 3-5-2 where Lukaku and Lautaro Martinez were the stars of the team but was also often helped by the assists of the wingers, who played a key role for that team. Despite Mourinho's side playing with the same tactical system, the way they attack is much different compared to that team, creating through the middle and expecting more individual brillance. With this attitude of the wingers and the midfielders, Lukaku has less opportunities.
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Conte's Inter relied a lot on Lukaku's long runs as the Belgian star also helped his team to keep the ball and let the players advance when he was on the ball. This is something that AS Roma are not doing at all. Conte was criticized at Inter because he was depending too much on Lukaku, while Mourinho is probably playing him too little. In fact, against AC Milan, Lukaku only had 26 touches in the whole game and zero shots. When Roma have issues to keep the ball, they almost never rely on him, despite this being one of his best skills.
His future at Roma is now in doubt, considering also what will happen this summer at the club. General Manager Tiago Pinto will leave the Giallorossi in February after the end of the current transfer window, and Mourinho will see his contract at the club expire. AS Roma have an option to permanently sign Lukaku, but it's likely that his future will be also linked to the one of the Portuguese coach, who still hasn't clarified what he will do. The next six months will determine the future of both Mourinho and Lukaku, but it's not impossible to think that they both won't be at Roma at the beginning of next season.