Mark van Bommel faces a barrage of questions at press conference over big name with Belgium
Belgium are gearing up for Friday evening's home Nations League clash with Turkey. At Thursday's press conference, head coach Mark van Bommel faced a string of questions about one player in particular: Romelu Lukaku.
Lukaku has built up an outstanding record with Belgium and remains their all-time top scorer with 93 goals. The Fenerbahçe striker is set to hold on to that status for the time being. The Anderlecht academy product is followed by Kevin De Bruyne on 38 goals.
That standing did not help him last week in the crunch game against France. The 33-year-old from Antwerp started on the bench and Van Bommel did not send him on at all. Against Italy on 25 September, Lukaku came on with seven minutes left.
The Belgian press had already picked up on Lukaku being left on the bench in those games, but the limited minutes he got as a substitute have now become a talking point too. Van Bommel spent much of his press conference dealing with questions about the striker.
"It is absolutely not the case that Romelu cannot come on as a substitute or cannot start, quite the opposite," Van Bommel is quoted as saying by Sporza. "It depends on what we think we need in whichever phase or whichever situation we are in."
"He has certain qualities, but I felt that in that match we were a little further away from goal, which meant we could use pace." Charles De Ketelaere started up front against both Italy and France. In Rome, Lukaku replaced him, but against France Van Bommel turned to Matías Fernández-Pardo instead.
"I talk a great deal with Romelu," Van Bommel continued. "I also went to see him in Istanbul and spoke to him via FaceTime about the situation and the way of playing. I do not want to say that Romelu cannot do that. Quite the opposite. The only drawback is that he is not playing much at Fenerbahçe."
"You have to take that into account. I also explained to him that I chose pace, not because he is doing badly, because he is training well. But it is not the case that you play on the basis of good training sessions, or vice versa. The issue is bigger on your side, but you do not need to look for anything major behind it."
Friday's match against Turkey could still carry extra meaning for Lukaku, given he now plays in the country. "I do not notice that with him. He feels good and feels at ease," Van Bommel said.
Right now, Lukaku is enduring a frustrating season. The right-footed forward is not guaranteed a starting spot at club level and has yet to register a goal or an assist. Lukaku is under contract with Fenerbahçe until the end of the season, with the club holding an option to extend his deal by a year.
