
Romelu Lukaku’s return to Chelsea has confirmed short-lived with the ahead set to depart on mortgage for Inter Milan.
Lukaku re-signed for Chelsea in a £97.5m membership document deal from the Italian facet final summer season, seven years after first leaving the west London looking for common first-team soccer.
The Belgium worldwide had been considered as a ahead who may assist flip Chelsea from challengers into champions, however endured a disastrous debut marketing campaign to muster simply eight league objectives.
Lukaku’s poor performances continued a pattern of underperforming forwards at Stamford Bridge and we’ve determined to look again on the final 5 gamers to have worn Chelsea’s cursed quantity 9.
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Radamel Falcao
Radamel Falcao’s disappointing mortgage spell at Manchester United was not sufficient to dissuade Chelsea from securing his companies the next marketing campaign, with the Colombian returning to the Premier League on a second successive mortgage from Monaco.
Falcao had been arguably Europe’s greatest out-and-out quantity 9 throughout spells at Porto and Atletico Madrid, memorably scoring a hat-trick because the latter thrashed Chelsea 4-1 to win the 2012 UEFA Tremendous Cup.
A severe knee harm had halted his progress nonetheless, and the ahead seemed a shadow of his former self throughout a forgettable mortgage spell at Stamford Bridge through the 2015/16 marketing campaign.
Embed from Getty Photographs
He scored his first purpose in a defeat to Crystal Palace in August, although it proved to be the solitary strike of Falcao’s season-long mortgage as he made simply 12 appearances in all competitions.
Chelsea unsurprisingly opted towards the £38m choice to make the deal everlasting.
Score: 1/10
Alvaro Morata
Chelsea spent massive as soon as once more of their pursuit of a number one centre-forward through the 2017 summer season switch window, spending a membership document £60m to signal Alvaro Morata from Actual Madrid.
The ahead had performed his half in successes for each Actual Madrid and Juventus, successful two Champions League trophies with the previous and two league titles with every membership.
The Spain worldwide had largely failed to determine himself as an automated starter nonetheless, with the transfer to Chelsea offering Morata with a chance to thrive because the membership’s main gentle.
He began brilliantly with seven objectives throughout his first seven league appearances for the west Londoners, however a brilliant begin light quick as his confidence dropped over the second half of the season.
Morata on the double! ✊
Three years in the past immediately! 🔵 pic.twitter.com/T9zTAJ7XSe
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) January 5, 2022
Having scored 10 league objectives earlier than the flip of the New 12 months, he managed only one extra throughout the rest of the season and was ignored of Chelsea’s beginning line-up for the FA Cup last win over Manchester United.
Morata struggled to regain his place as an automated starter and was allowed to go away on an preliminary mortgage to Atletico Madrid mid-way by way of his second season.
Score: 4/10
Gonzalo Higuain
Signed on mortgage from Juventus as a alternative for the outgoing Morata, the transfer to Chelsea reunited Higuain with former Napoli supervisor Maurizio Sarri.
Higuain had scored a record-breaking 36 league objectives throughout his last season below Sarri in Naples, earlier than scoring 48 occasions in 105 league appearances throughout a 3 season spell with Juventus.
The Argentina worldwide scored 5 objectives in 14 appearances throughout his spell with Chelsea, although the Blues opted towards extending his cope with Higuain trying off the tempo for a lot of his time within the Premier League.
Embed from Getty Photographs
He returned to Juventus and once more reunited with Sarri in Turin, although his contract was cancelled by mutual consent only a 12 months later. He signed for MLS franchise Inter Miami on a free switch after leaving Italy.
Score: 2/10
Tammy Abraham
Frank Lampard’s appointment as Chelsea supervisor noticed the lengthy overdue promotion of a number of academy graduates into the facet.
Tammy Abraham was handed his likelihood following a prolific mortgage spell at Aston Villa, wherein the ahead scored 26 objectives to assist Villa to promotion to the Premier League.
Lampard’s religion was evidenced by Abraham’s designation of the quantity 9 shirt, with the teenager rewarding his supervisor’s belief with a powerful first season within the senior facet.
Ohhh, Tammy Tammy! 🙌
⚽️ @TammyAbraham pic.twitter.com/47ds3NjlUn
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) November 8, 2020
Abraham scored 18 objectives in all competitions to complete as Chelsea’s main scorer in 2019/20, although the arrivals of Timo Werner and Kai Havertz the next summer season elevated competitors for locations at Stamford Bridge.
He remained an everyday member of the facet till the arrival of Thomas Tuchel as Lampard’s successor, that includes solely sporadically below the German over the second half of the 2020/21 season.
Abraham featured for simply 140 minutes within the Premier League below Tuchel and was ignored of Chelsea’s squad for the Champions League last win over Manchester Metropolis.
Regardless of his lack of involvement he completed because the Blues’ joint-leading scorer in all competitions, earlier than signing for Roma with a document of 30 objectives in 82 appearances.
He has shone since transferring to Italian soccer, setting a brand new document for essentially the most prolific debut season from a Roma participant with 27 objectives in all competitions.
Score: 6/10
Romelu Lukaku
Romelu Lukaku returned to Chelsea final summer season with large expectations, having developed into certainly one of Europe’s most prolific forwards since leaving Stamford Bridge as a young person.
The Belgium worldwide had scored 64 objectives in 95 appearances throughout two seasons with Inter Milan, producing the most effective soccer of his profession sturdy spells at each Everton and Manchester United.
He was named as Serie A’s Most Worthwhile Participant after firing the Nerazzurri to title success in 2020/21, performances which persuaded Chelsea to spend a membership document £97.5m on his companies.
😬 Within the Premier League period, 17 completely different gamers have had the No.9 shirt for Chelsea. Solely six of these have had it multiple season. Cursed?
👀 Khalid Boulahrouz, Gonzalo Higuain, Franco Di Santo, Steve Sidwell and Alvaro Morata to call just some… pic.twitter.com/owdT2NlnbF
— WhoScored.com (@WhoScored) June 8, 2022
What had seemed like a really perfect match has as an alternative confirmed an ungainly match, with Lukaku faltering following a brilliant begin to rating simply eight league objectives for the marketing campaign.
His battle for kind and favour got here alongside a controversial interview wherein he criticised Chelsea and spoke of his want to at some point return to Inter, a want which has been granted as he nears the completion of a mortgage transfer to the San Siro.
It’s a transfer all events are eager on, following one of the crucial disappointing main Premier League signings in current reminiscence.
Score: 4/10
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