Chelsea believed they had the new Drogba, but Boehly sold him for £30 million.

Chelsea’s Premier League goal total increased significantly last season, from 38 in 2022/23 (averaging just one goal per game) to 63 in 2023/24.
However, Chelsea has not had a striker score 15 or more Premier League goals since 2019/20, when academy graduate Tammy Abraham scored 15 goals in a season after being trusted to lead the line by Frank Lampard.

Nicolas Jackson was solid if unspectacular after joining from Villarreal, appearing 44 times for the Blues in all competitions, scoring 17 goals and providing six assists. It is fair to say he proved to be a better option than Romelu Lukaku’s expensive transfer…

Romelu Lukaku’s first spell at Chelsea
Lukaku was one of the strikers tasked with filling Didier Drogba’s boots, spending two seasons at the club and being compared to the Chelsea legend on numerous occasions, including once by Alan Pardew, who called Lukaku a “full number nine” who could “emulate” what Drogba had done.

Lukaku first joined Chelsea in 2011, when the club paid around £20 million to sign him from Belgian club Anderlecht. The young Belgian was given substitute minutes in his first year before being loaned out to West Brom in 2012/13, where he really began to show his teeth.

The Belgian appeared in 38 matches for West Brom, scoring 17 goals, assisting four times, and playing 2,252 minutes. The following season, Lukaku missed a penalty for Mourinho’s Chelsea in the Super Cup final before joining Everton on loan to further his development.

Lukaku demonstrated his ability to score regularly in the Premier League, scoring 15 goals in 31 appearances and adding seven assists.

The following season, Chelsea decided to cash in on the hot striker and sold him to Everton on a permanent basis for around £28 million.

Lukaku’s second spell with Chelsea
After spending many years away from Stamford Bridge, playing for Everton, Manchester United, and then Inter Milan, Chelsea decided in 2021 that the missing piece for Thomas Tuchel’s Champions League-winning team was the Belgian forward, who had just scored 30 goals for Inter in 2020/21.

The Londoners broke their club record transfer fee by paying £97.5 million to sign the striker. The Belgian started well, scoring against Arsenal in a 2-0 victory at the Emirates, dominating the game and bullying the Gunners’ defence.

However, in an interview, Lukaku spoke publicly about his disappointment at Chelsea, having only joined a few months prior, saying he was “not happy” with Tuchel’s system and use of him, before hinting at a return to Inter Milan.

This became the catalyst for the hulking attacker’s demise at the club, with the German manager unhappy with the Belgian’s comments, and Chelsea fans now turning against him.

The now 31-year-old returned to Inter on loan for the 2022/23 season, as many believed his Chelsea career was over.

Todd Boehly finally sold Lukaku this summer, signing for Napoli for £30 million and putting an end to one of Chelsea’s worst transfers ever.