As Richarlison ripped away in celebration to the Gladys Street End at Goodison Park and claimed a Blue flare to parade in the corner of the pitch - the Brazilian produced a moment that stood above the match. With smoke tracing his path before he sent the flare back into the stands, the moment almost secured Everton's end of season momentum and cast Chelsea one nil down and into an apathetic end of season malaise in the Premier League.
Not dissimilarly, Friday morning's announcement that the Everton forward signed for Tottenham was not disappointing in the sense that he didn't sign for Chelsea. Even with reports that Todd Boehly attempted a late bid after Spurs agreed a fee, but in that Fabio Paratici has wasted little time in assembly Antonio Conte's squad.
The Lilywhites have seen Fraser Forster, Yves Bissouma, and Ivan Perisic arrive in addition to Richarlison this summer, while Thomas Tuchel still awaits a fresh face ahead of the Blues' return to pre-season training this weekend.
READ MORE: Chelsea star spotted training with another club amid Premier League transfer exit rumours
Of course, there are caveats. The first month of ownership has seen Bruce Buck, Petr Cech and Marina Granovskaia depart from their previous roles with a new board formed and Boehly taking on the roles of chairman and interim sporting director. This summer was always going to be condensed, and with that, Boehly perhaps landed even greater responsibility given the rebuild Chelsea required.
A late offer for Richarlison is not the ideal way to do business, with the Blues already playing catch-up in the transfer market compared to Liverpool, Manchester City and Tottenham, but there have been more promising signs too. The Blues quickly moved towards an agreement for Raheem Sterling after Boehly directly made contact with the Citizens and found themselves with a £55 million agreement with Leeds United soon after for the services of Raphinha. However, neither has been pictured in Chelsea colours in the aftermath.
Both players are internationals, so are still more than a week away from where they would join up with Chelsea's squad for their pre-season tour, but the last seven days have shown even when you move quickly, results don't always follow with the same speed. Raphinha appears insistent on delaying any decision in the hope that Barcelona can find the funds to convince Leeds.
With it anticipated that, when the Catalan side can afford to, their first order of business will be to land Robert Lewandowski, Chelsea could easily find themselves in a drawn-out affair. That is something that cannot be allowed with any forward transfers, ultimately meaning players also need to go in the other direction, and central defenders also need to be found. The Blues found success in surpassing their rivals for the transfer with the Elland Road chiefs but cannot rely on that for a successful transfer window.
Raphinha waits for a Barcelona bid to be accepted, Barcelona waits for Leeds to budge due to Raphinha's preference, and Leeds waits for Barcelona to match Chelsea's offer. Chelsea can only wait or end their interest in that cycle. The Blues can hope that they become the winger's only option but must not simply become a bargaining tool in separate negotiations.
A number of targets are present, and while good decisions must be made, they cannot be laboured. It would be better for the Blues to carry a flare in celebration rather than lighting one in a distress call in a couple of weeks.
READ NEXT:
Thomas Tuchel may already have the answer to Chelsea's £50m Manchester City transfer problem
Barcelona secure £177.6m windfall to concern Chelsea in Raphinha transfer battle
Sell Timo Werner, keep Levi Colwill - How Chelsea's squad should look after the transfer window
- Matthijs de Ligt signs, Jules Kounde U-turn, Jonathan Clauss in: Chelsea's dream £138m defence
Pep Guardiola has already told Thomas Tuchel what Nathan Ake offers amid Chelsea transfer move
