Owen Hargreaves and Rio Ferdinand urge Chelsea to give Romelu Lukaku another chance

Ex-England players Rio Ferdinand and Owen Hargreaves are of the opinion that Chelsea can still use Romelu Lukaku.

“If he can get back fit again, this guy is proven to be a goalscorer, simple as that,” Ferdinand replied on BT Sport when asked if the Belgian can still cut it at Chelsea following his late winner against Porto in the Champions League.

“I think: new manager, give him a chance. You’ve got no-one in there that you trust at the moment – [Pierre-Emerick] Aubameyang isn’t even in the European squad.

“This guy, he’s just a goalscorer, he knows how to score goals. He’s not fit and he’s carrying a bit more weight than normal – than what he would like, what the club would like – yet still comes in and scores two goals in the last two games.”

Hargreaves said: “No chance [Lukaku's career at Chelsea is over].

“Especially when they’ve spent £600m and they don’t have a centre-forward. They’ve got a really good one.

“Just get him fit, he’s proven. Rio’s right, his body of work shows he scores goals. Why would you not try and integrate him back in the summer?”

Lukaku has scored just four goals in his 14 appearances for Inter this season, but two of those goals have come in his last two games.