Romelu Lukaku transfer price plummets as Chelsea get major Victor Osimhen January windfall blow

With 18 goals this season already for club and country Romelu Lukaku is doing his thing. The issue is he's doing it in Italy and faces no realistic way of ever returning to Chelsea.

To many that might not be an issue, Lukaku was handed a second chance at Stamford Bridge and threw it away within a matter of months and has done very little since to try and make it up to those who sung his name viciously on repeat until Boxing Day 2021. Everything else since then has been pretty venomous towards him.

Now, coming up to one year on from one of his worst performances ever, missing a handful of massive chances during Belgium's 0-0 draw against Croatia at the World Cup, Lukaku has found his mojo again. His four goals in 45 minutes against Azerbaijan were the perfect way to continue responding to critics, not that many from a Chelsea background were looking.

Lukaku's international record is stellar — now 83 goals in 113 games and 16 assists including a respectable 11 in 22 at major tournaments with 10 in nine UEFA Nations League matches as well — and his domestic record still speaks for itself. The 30-year-old is still yesterday's man in west London, though.

The farce over a move away from Chelsea in the summer is fresh in the minds of many with Juventus and Inter both frustrated by their inability to complete a deal. Surrey was his temporary home but in no more than name as he sought a way out of the club he had joined for a then record £97.5million ($121million) in 2021. Now he is on a second loan in as many seasons and trying to stay relevant.

The numbers say he is very much doing that. With six goals in 10 Serie A games under Jose Mourinho at Roma he is in good form, the Europa League is a playground for someone with undoubted