Romelu Lukaku’s agent blames Thomas Tuchel and injury for Chelsea struggles

“He came from an almost father-son relationship with [Antonio] Conte, and that difference in approach conditioned him somewhat, along with the injury he sustained. If it hadn’t been for that, the story would have been different.”

Lukaku’s return didn’t go as hoped, but his goal record wasn’t entirely poor given the circumstances.

He managed 15 goals in 44 appearances and played a part in helping Chelsea win the Club World Cup. But for a player who cost nearly £100m, it was still a disappointing return.

There were even matches where he hardly touched the ball at all – just eight touches against Crystal Palace highlighted how isolated he could be at times. Even now, there are parts of his game that could still improve.

Romelu Lukaku was close to joining Real Madrid

Lukaku’s reputation around football remained solid, even during his less successful spells at Chelsea and Manchester United.

Federico Pastorello has said that there was a time when Carlo Ancelotti looked into bringing him to Real Madrid.

He told AS: “I must be honest and say there was an opportunity, at a time when it wasn’t clear where Romelu was going and with Ancelotti as coach. They were thinking of reinforcing the forward line, but they were already focused on the big signing of [Kylian] Mbappe for the following year and didn’t want to spend money on a loan.

“So let’s say there was an opportunity because Ancelotti would have liked it; he always held Lukaku in high regard, but unfortunately it didn’t materialise.”

Lukaku’s second stint at Chelsea never really clicked, which is a shame considering how good he’d been at Inter.

At first, it seemed like he might be what Chelsea needed. But over time, it became clear that Thomas Tuchel wasn’t convinced he fit into his plans.