Despite lifting the Serie A title with Inter Milan just weeks prior, last summer saw Belgian striker Romelu Lukaku rejoin his former club, Chelsea.
The commanding striker followed Antonio Conte out of the San Siro’s exit and ended up signing for Thomas Tuchel’s Blues in a deal worth an eye-watering £102m.
Although Lukaku arrived back at Stamford Bridge as one of the sport’s most in-form forwards, this season has seen the 28-year-old resigned to nothing more than a bit-part role.
Forced to spend the majority of the campaign on Tuchel’s substitute bench, the Belgium international has looked void of confidence and a shadow of his former self.
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While many fans and pundits have questioned Chelsea’s decision to sign Lukaku for the second time in his career, one person who feels the striker has made a big mistake himself is former Liverpool striker Stan Collymore.
Writing in his exclusive CaughtOffside column about what has gone wrong for the Belgium international during his second spell in London, Collymore said: “This season has been one to forget for Chelsea’s Romelu Lukaku and it’s been really disappointing because he is actually one of my favourite players.
“If I’m honest, I was surprised he went back there because I remember him getting hammered when he missed a penalty in a Super Cup final. He got a lot of stick from Chelsea fans and left after that but sometimes you can be offered so much money that it skews your thought process.
“He went to Inter Milan from United and it looked like he’d finally found a home. If I could say this to any player, I would say that there is always a balance between top-level money and you knowing where you need to be in order to get the best out of yourself.
“Lukaku was enjoying life at Inter Milan and working incredibly well under Antonio Conte – so just stay.
“Despite him coming in and getting off to a decent start, it is still a terrible fit and we’re seeing this now.
“Lukaku is a lesson to any player who is happy at a club, competing for trophies, working towards legendary status and then gets blindsided by money.”
Since making his second debut for the Blues earlier in the second, Lukaku, who signed a contract until 2026, has gone on to score just five Premier League goals in 25 appearances.