In August, Romelu Lukaku made his return to Stamford Bridge and after a stellar tenure at Inter Milan, seemed primed to become the final piece of Chelsea's jigsaw.
The Blues narrowly finished fourth in the Premier League but managed to win the Champions League and UEFA Super Cup to punctuate Thomas Tuchel's first months in the Chelsea hotseat.
However, no Chelsea player scored more than 12 goals last season, while Jorginho was the Blues' top scorer in the Premier League in 2020/21 with just seven goals.
As such, 48-year-old Tuchel was happy to see the arrival of the Belgian.
"I am very happy. He can be hopefully an excellent choice for us and addition," said Tuchel. "He has the power, the physique to help us, the experience and the personality to have a huge impact on our squad.
"He is, at the same time, a humble guy. A team player and he cares about Chelsea so we had the feeling that it was worth it to try and to fight hard for him so we are happy he is our player now."
After missing the opening day trip to Crystal Palace, Lukaku started with a bang at the Emirates Stadium as he opened the scoring against Arsenal, before bagging an accomplished brace against Aston Villa to record three goals in his first three games back with the Blues.
However, the flow of strikes slowed and then Lukaku picked up an injury against Malmo that kept the forward out for a month. The 28-year-old lost any momentum he had built and it wasn't until Boxing Day he was able to score once again.
Before the end of 2021, the transfer almost seemed in tatters as Lukaku was interviewed by Sky Italia and appeared to question Tuchel's methods and his future with the Blues.
Lukaku lost the benefit of the doubt from supporters, but had perhaps already been failing to live up to the profile that Tuchel envisaged Chelsea were receiving when they spent £97.5million. His impact waned and in games against Tottenham and Brighton, the forward was only able to record 28 and 18 touches respectively.
"We were looking for a certain profile and Romelu feels confident to play physical, to play with back to goal, also very strong in using his pace so this will always be a key figure in our game," said Tuchel.
"We want to be strong in ball wins and offensive transition, this is what the league demands and what we demand of ourselves. We don't want to be only a ball possession team or only a defensive team, long balls, but the feeling that Romelu’s strengths will give us a new power when we cross from the side.
"I don't think we have to change too much our style of play. He has charisma, a good age now, a leader and hopefully he will be a leader in our group."
While the Belgian released an apology and Tuchel appeared to hold no grudge, January was a difficult month for Lukaku with his ability and work-rate questioned, and his reputation as a leader in tatters.
Until the Club World Cup.
The former Manchester United and Everton striker scored a goal in each of Chelsea's games in the tournament but showed his ability to pressure the defence into mistakes. When the stakes were highest, Lukaku stepped up.
Even in the competition's final, he took being substituted in his stride and provided a pep talk to Timo Werner during extra time.
Former Blues star Pat Nevin was particularly impressed by Lukaku's display against Palmeiras.
"He scored the opening goal when under serious pressure from three players, but it was his movement, his link-up play and his general attitude that jumped out at me," Nevin told Chelsea's official website.
"I would go so far as to say this is my favourite Romelu performance since his move back to the Bridge in the summer. It is hard enough chasing defenders and leading the high press but doing it in those warm conditions is harder still.
"He looked as sharp, lively and lithe as he was back in Italy where he had a superb time for Inter. This is exactly what the manager wants to see and in fact what he has been demanding. Performances like this will not only make him look better, but every single player around him will benefit as he ties up two and three players at a time.
"I also loved the little things by Romelu. When he was subbed, much to many people’s surprise, he dashed off the field in a positive way showing that he respected the manager’s decision and indeed respected the player who would be replacing him. Nobody likes being subbed, but personal disappointment has to be secondary to the team ethic. I loved that little moment but also his attitude on the bench and afterwards in the celebrations. He looked totally integrated and happy.
"Romelu might not be able to put that much effort in for 90 minutes every three of four days, but then what striker does these days? Rotation is vital."
After signing for near to £100million, such performances have been too rare but as Chelsea prepare to face Crystal Palace for the second time this season, it feels like a new beginning for Lukaku.
With his goals in the Club World Cup, the striker now stands alone as Chelsea's top goalscorer, albeit with only 10 goals.
His performance against Palmeiras has left Tuchel's early season expectations ringing in the brain and now is the perfect time to start living up to them.
