What have we learnt from every Romelu Lukaku key touch for Chelsea?

“I didn’t expect too much. I wanted to be open to watch him and see his strengths and capability to adapt and to link up between Kai, Mason, and him. This was good,” said Thomas Tuchel. The German manager was implying that he had sent his shiny new forward into his second Chelsea debut without too many tactical instructions. Romelu Lukaku had just returned to the Blues seven years after he departed, this time for a club-record fee. The Belgian waited a week to make his return debut, which came on the road in a hostile environment at the Emirates Stadium. 15 minutes into the match against Arsenal, he had the ball in the back of the net—to the surprise of absolutely no one.

Ultimately, that is the reason why Chelsea bought Lukaku in the first place, to fix the side’s goalscoring struggles. To that end, his debut—followed by another impressive 45 minutes against Liverpool—would’ve satisfied the fans and the staff alike. However, Lukaku’s arrival changes more than just numbers on a scoresheet and as his influence grows, supporters are bound to see the team play differently than it did last season. Once Lukaku gets fully acclimated and used to playing with those around him, fans will be treated to true “Tuchel ball.”

There were some signs of things to come during the striker’s first two outings as a new Chelsea player. This piece will serve to recount some of his key touches from the aforementioned games to understand what he offered the team and what it might lead to in the season ahead.