Chelsea have notoriously been somewhat ‘hit and miss’ in the transfer market over the past few decades, basking in resounding triumph on a regular basis and utilising their affluence to great effect, but there have been a few blunders along the way.
And with the club parting with esteemed long-time owner Roman Abramovich last year due to the fallout from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the introduction of Todd Boehly as proprietor of the west London giants has thus far been steeped in affluence, with the Blues indeed spending in excess of £430m since last summer – a figure that will only increase before the closing of the January transfer window.
With this in mind, the club must soon deal with something of a quandary regarding the future of Romelu Lukaku, who arrived for no less than £97.5m in 2021 after previously rising through the youth ranks years before.
However, after only scoring eight goals in the Premier League and giving an incendiary interview expressing his discontent at the club under the former manager Thomas Tuchel, he was permitted to re-join Inter Milan, from whom the Blues had signed him, on a one-year loan deal.
“Disasterclass”
This season, the 29-year-old has only scored twice from nine appearances, with his recent woes compounded by injury issues that have left him unable to rekindle the best of his form.
And amid this turmoil, his infamous performance at the 2022 World Cup was met with scathing criticism, with the talisman recording an abysmal 5.6 match rating – as per Sofascore – in the decisive group fixture against Croatia – a 0-0 draw that ultimately severed the hopes of challenging for the trophy in the knockout phase.
In the affair, Lukaku missed four big chances and amassed an expected goals (xG) tally of 1.73, earning him the branding of a “disasterclass“, according to African writer David Hundey. That word would aptly describe his second spell in London too.
The nomadic behemoth has scored 268 goals and served 88 assists from 560 senior appearances at club level, also frequently dazzling on the international stage and plundering a remarkable 68 goals from just 104 outings for Belgium.
While there will be some affiliated with Chelsea that will urge the powers that be at the club to take a risk and welcome Lukaku back to the fold to spearhead the expansive pool of talent for the new era, it would be a decision unlikely to bear fruit, with the £350k-per-week “monster‘, as he was once hailed by writer Thierry Nyann, unlikely to hold the same fear factor once within his grasp.
And despite the 33-year-old Chelsea striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang also failing to impress following his summer transfer from Barcelona, scoring just three times, it is Lukaku who simply must be moved on first.
After all, current Blues boss Graham Potter might be prudent to utilise the outfit’s wealth and target a younger, fresher new talisman than the pair of them.
Despite Lukaku’s remarkable goal record and high fee to re-join the ranks at Stamford Bridge, he must be moved on, there is a new dawn in west London, and the Belgian powerhouse must not be allowed to lead the line once again.
from FootballFanCast.com https://ift.tt/YnN35rv
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