Chelsea and Thomas Tuchel have been dealt a blow in their pursuit of a new long-term striker after Roma confirmed Tammy Abraham will not be allowed to re-join his former side in the summer.
Who would have thought that this would be a topic of conversation after the Blues splashed £97.5million out on club record signing Romelu Lukaku with the view of the Belgian being the long-term solution up top.
However, his controversial Sky Italia interview coupled with poor form since the interview aired has led to much debate over the longevity of Lukaku at Chelsea - under one year into his return.
"Like I said, this is what you read into it, what everybody reads into it, I did not read it completely," manager Tuchel said in the aftermath of the incident, ahead of the December Liverpool fixture.
"It's very easy in general to take lines out of context and take lines and make headlines to get the focus and to get the best out of these interviews for several days.
"If it's an interview from a person of that kind of interest, an important player, I totally understand the process and that's why it's a lot of extra noise, but still we are not here to just read the headlines.
"Maybe we here can take the time to try to understand what's going on because it does not reflect his daily work, it does not reflect his daily attitude, it does not reflect the daily behaviour which Romelu shows here at Cobham.
"But you need to ask him not me, I cannot help you further with this, because I was surprised."
With it being unknown whether or not the 28-year-old will act upon his word and force through a shock exit in the summer back to Inter Milan, planning has reportedly already begun for replacements.
Targets such as Erling Haaland are well documented, but Armando Broja could have a big role to play in where the club goes next in this situation.
The Albanian international, who has been touted as the next Diego Costa, has ripped up trees on the South Coast for Ralph Hasenhuttl's side with his five goals scored in the Premier League this term.
football.london understands that the Saints are keen to make his move permanent in the summer but Tuchel wants to see what he can offer in pre-season training ahead of 2022/23 before making a final decision.
"Armando's getting better and better, he's a very unique player with unique strengths in his game, he has speed, he's robust and he's a goal scorer," Tuchel said in January when reflecting on Broja's loan so far.
"First of all, now is not the moment to discuss the summer, it's the moment for him to stay calm and keep on improving."
If the worst did happen, ex-striker and academy product Abraham would be an option that fans would certainly love the club to explore.
The Englishman already has 19 goal contributions in all competitions under Jose Mourinho's guidance and is up there already alongside the likes of Robert Lewandowski for goal scoring stats this season across Europe.
Unfortunately, in spite of his red hot form for Roma, the 24-year-old wouldn't be an option for Granovskaia and co to consider until 2023 at the earliest when his £68million buy-back clause kicks in.
Something that was confirmed by AS Roma director Tiago Pinto, via Fabrizio Romano: "There’s a buy back clause into Abraham contract but it’s not gonna be valid this summer - I’m not even worried, we’re happy with Tammy and he’s doing great."
Romano added: "Chelsea have a buy back clause for €80m - starting from July 2023."
Centre-back and midfield are two areas of need in the upcoming summer transfer window but depending on what happens up top with the likes of Broja, Lukaku and Timo Werner regarding each of their futures, seeking out a new number 9 may topple the other two positions.
