We all have been trying to answer a lot of questions about Romelu Lukaku over the past nine months. How did it go wrong? Why could it not work out? Why did he do that interview?
One question that is more relevant over the dissection of the Lukaku saga is what happens next? How do Chelsea approach their attack after effectively blowing almost £100m? The instinct is probably to go out and spend again, trying to rectify the error with someone better. But Chelsea have made achieving that objective look like rocket science over recent years.
Some may prefer to go a window without signing a new centre-forward, instead placing confidence in Kai Havertz, who they invested heavily in two years ago.
READ MORE: Romelu Lukaku suffers blow in attempt to leave Chelsea as Inter Milan transfer stance revealed
Recent reports of Arsenal leading the race to sign Manchester City forward Gabriel Jesus cannot be ignored. The Brazillian has been offered to Chelsea, however he is not the only potential attacker in the eyes of Thomas Tuchel and Todd Boehly.
Jesus' City peer Raheem Sterling has already been linked and Ousmane Dembele has held meetings with Tuchel and is set to decide on his future after his holiday, a source has told football.london. Other names like RB Leipzig's Christopher Nkunku, Lille's Jonathan David and Leeds' winger Raphinha have also been linked.
Resolving the Lukaku problem should hopefully alleviate tension and free up space but given the personnel that will be left behind, the dilemma does not end there. Timo Werner, Christian Pulisic and Hakim Ziyech all have question marks over their heads. Are they happy? Will they be sold? Does Tuchel have them in his plans?
The arrival of either Dembele or Sterling will not only necessitate another sale but would likely push already frustrated players closer to the exit door, although selling them might prove trickier.
Sticking with Havertz makes sense given Tuchel's trust in him over Lukaku during the second half of last season, his growth in the role and his familiarity with the system. In 12 months' time, will the Lukaku story be seen as some bizarre diversion from what Tuchel had decided to go with in the closing months of the 2020/21 season?
Havertz's now-iconic winning goal in the Champions League final came from him playing in the centre of Tuchel's attacking trio with Mason Mount and Werner. Even after Lukaku's introduction, Tuchel eventually returned to that plan in February with Havertz soon finding his scoring touch again, netting seven times across eight appearances in all competitions between late February and early April.
Moving up from nine goals in his first season to 14 in his second, Havertz is slowly showing the scoring attributes that could make him a reliable finisher in the coming years. It is why potentially losing out on Jesus to Arsenal might not be such a damaging blow, given the wide options like Sterling and Dembele who could still be acquired over the summer.
There also might need to be a shift away from searching for the one player that will solve everything as Lukaku was deemed to be, to instead focus on more selfless players who fit into the approach Tuchel is trying to cultivate at Stamford Bridge.
