It’s coming up on one week since Fabrizio Romano officially gave the “here we go” on Romelu Lukaku to Chelsea. The last few days have been filled with all sorts of nonsense like tracking flights, camping outside of airports and invading the Belgian’s personal space as he attempts to travel from one location to another—be it inside of a car or a restaurant. Grainy images of Lukaku have been released via social media as supporters embark on the treacherous journey from Italy to France to England along with the new club record signing.
It was always a lot to ask of the Blues to get the new No. 9 registered in time for Wednesday’s Super Cup. After all, completing a £97.5 million transfer is no small task. The paperwork, travel and exchanging of unimaginable amounts of money take time. Chelsea is still taking its sweet time though, which is something it cannot afford to do any longer.
Chelsea has been dealt a crushing blow in the Romelu Lukaku transfer saga
Inter Milan and Chelsea have now dragged this saga on long enough that the 28-year-old cannot feature in Thomas Tuchel’s squad on Saturday. The Blues would’ve really hoped Lukaku could play against Crystal Palace in matchday one of the Premier League, especially after their struggles against Villarreal. He will now have to wait another 10 days for his long-awaited return to Chelsea. The Blues travel to the Emirates on August 22 and while it’ll be nice to have him for a big London derby, it’s unfortunate he cannot put on the shirt sooner than Arsenal.
All of this isn’t to say fans expected him to start against Patrick Vieira’s side either. It’d just be nice to have one of the world’s best strikers on the bench as a late-game option following a day or two of training under Chelsea’s German tactician. The Blues should have no problem properly dispatching the Eagles in front of a ruckus crowd at Stamford Bridge at the weekend. However, this should’ve been the case on Wednesday, as well. Games are not played solely on paper for this exact reason. Crystal Palace always seems to give Chelsea a fit. A positive on that front is the fact the Blues’ own Conor Gallagher will not feature for the Eagles against his parent club.
Chelsea’s attack in its domestic opener will now be extremely limited. Kai Havertz went the distance against Villarreal (including extra time). Timo Werner and Callum Hudson-Odoi played for over an hour; Christian Pulisic and Mason Mount also featured, something Tuchel was likely looking to avoid in the case of the latter. To make matters worse, Hakim Ziyech suffered a shoulder injury that left him in a sling for the celebrations. He is almost certainly out of the matchday squad against Crystal Palace, leaving the Blues even more thin up front.
All things considered, Chelsea is not in a horrible position, it just would’ve been nice to have an extra—and rested— body to factor into the mix in Lukaku. The Blues struggled once again to finish chances in the Super Cup and the attacking upgrade is needed as soon as possible.
Who do you think starts up front for Chelsea on Saturday? Let us know in the comments or on Twitter!