In the midst of all the activity swirling around Stamford Bridge, Romelu Lukaku remains a constant. Although he has almost become an afterthought, with no shirt number, no place in Mauricio Pochettino’s squad, and seemingly no way out of his Chelsea purgatory. Despite hopes of a return to Inter being dashed by Lukaku’s flirtation with Juventus, and offers from the Saudi Pro League failing to entice the Belgian, Lukaku might still have more to offer at the highest level. If a resolution is not found before the transfer window closes, there is a slim chance that Lukaku could rise again and provide a boost to Chelsea’s attack.
However, the aim is still to sell Lukaku, and the Saudi window doesn’t close until September 20. The prospects of reconciling seem low. Even before Pochettino took over, Chelsea and Lukaku were already looking to end their relationship, and Lukaku appears to have mentally checked out. Pochettino made it clear that if nothing changes after the window closes, he is not considering reintegrating Lukaku into the team. The focus is on the team, not expending energy on a situation that was already clear before they arrived at Chelsea.
This ruthless attitude aligns with Chelsea’s owners’ vision of building a squad of hungry young players on long, incentivized contracts. They have allowed experienced players to leave this summer, and Lukaku, at 30 years old, doesn’t fit into their project. However, despite spending close to £1bn on transfers since last summer, Chelsea still seems to lack goals. They have depth in defense and midfield but are still in search of attacking additions.
During their 1-1 draw with Liverpool, it was evident why Chelsea needs to address their finishing issues. The departure of Diego Costa in 2017 has left a gap in their goal-scoring ability, as seen by their 38 league goals last season. Pochettino, who had relied on Harry Kane at Tottenham and Kylian Mbappé at PSG, lacks lethal finishers in the final third.
The question is, how can this issue be resolved? Kane was unattainable, and Napoli is reluctant to part ways with Victor Osimhen. The striker market is not thriving, and Chelsea has had their fair share of disappointments in big-name forwards, with Lukaku being one of them. Timo Werner, Álvaro Morata, and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang also struggled at Stamford Bridge in recent years.
Chelsea showed promise against Liverpool, with Pochettino’s influence becoming apparent. Nicolas Jackson impressed on his debut, but the 21-year-old still needs more finesse in front of the goal. Surprisingly, Pochettino needs more options despite their midfield and wingers. Enzo Fernández, Caicedo, and Lavia in midfield may not pose enough of a threat. Additionally, the wingers need to match Raheem Sterling’s level of productivity. Although Sterling had a disappointing first season, he still managed to score nine goals, while Mykhailo Mudryk and Noni Madueke struggled to find the back of the net.
The injury to Nkunku has also impacted the team’s dynamics. Pochettino is on a tight schedule, aiming for Champions League qualification as a bare minimum. He scoffs at the notion that Chelsea should settle for a Europa Conference League spot. Given these goals, it wouldn’t hurt for Chelsea to consider someone like Lille’s Jonathan David, a consistent scorer in Ligue 1.
While Chelsea’s deal for Crystal Palace winger Michael Olise fell through, they have expressed interest in Nottingham Forest’s Brennan Johnson. Chelsea continues to focus on potential rather than the present. The problem for Pochettino is that their rivals have more firepower at their disposal. Manchester City has Erling Haaland, Liverpool has Mohamed Salah, Manchester United has Marcus Rashford, and Newcastle has Alexander Isak.
Meanwhile, Lukaku sits idle, waiting for his fate to be decided.
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