When Chelsea made the move to bring Romelu Lukaku back to Stamford Bridge in the summer of 2021, many were predicting that the then European champions had sealed a transfer which would guarantee continued success for years to come.
It was an astronomical £97 million move which was a signal of intent for Thomas Tuchel, with the German manager already having brought incredible success to West London with the Champions League crown. By bringing in the Serie A MVP, who had just won the Scudetto at Inter, there was even talk that the Blues would compete with Manchester City and Liverpool for that season's league title.
However, it has not panned out that way, and less than 18 months later he is out on loan at Inter, having scored just 15 goals in 44 appearances in all competitions last season for Chelsea. This was punctuated by a bombshell interview last December where he slammed the former boss and expressed a desire to move back to Inter.
