There probably is an alternative reality where Romelu Lukaku returned to Chelsea and instantly clicked as he did for Thomas Tuchel, but instead of the slow regression to disappointment, he would maintain that early form leading the Blues to a Premier League title.
Maybe that reality could have happened five years ago when the Belgian appeared all set to sign for Chelsea under Antonio Conte from Everton before opting for Manchester United instead, a move that ended in disappointment.
Though those days of superstars turning up and resolving all your woes appear to be behind us. The days of the obvious name being given such licence to impose his will over a team at the elite level feel like an anomaly rather than the norm.
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The 2021/22 Premier League season was a great case study for this, with both Cristiano Ronaldo and Lukaku returning to England after succeeding in Serie A.
Although both scored goals, both became the centre of a conversation over whether their profiles best suited the teams they were in. No longer were their scoring talents enough to override the demands of a league that is more reliant on counter-pressing towards the top of the league. Albeit Ronaldo did score over 20 goals in a pretty poor United side, the debate over his suitability remains.
In France, PSG too discovered that their ludicrous outlay for a number of stars, headlined by the arrival of Lionel Messi in late August, could not prevent their now annual collapse in the Champions League knockout stage.
Lukaku was the signing a lot of Chelsea supporters, including myself, dreamed of. It appeared to be the name to finally replace Diego Costa and offer the talismanic presence that had been so greatly lacking since the previous title win.
A lot of reasons will be attributed to Lukaku's failure. His harshest critics will place the blame solely on his door, the failure to adapt to Tuchel's demands. The interview with Sky Italia and the alleged calls back to Inter Milan detailing his unhappiness in west London not long after he had waxed lyrical about how much playing for Chelsea meant to him.
There is also another side that looks at Tuchel, the system Chelsea plays with, and the wider scouting of a £97m player whose attributes would not align with the team Tuchel had already been constructing in his first five months in charge.
It feels quite symbolic that Lukaku was the last marquee addition of the Roman Abramovich era because it reflects how the market and sport have changed in recent years. Lukaku was the ready-now option that fit into Chelsea's ruthless and short-term mindset, one that had led the club to much success under Abramovich in almost 20 years.
The dispensing of an academy product like Tammy Abraham to Roma to make way for Lukaku provided an eerily similar repeat to the events of 2014 when it was the younger Lukaku deemed surplus to requirements by the current coach to make way for Costa.
At that time, the sale of Lukaku would do little to hurt Chelsea's instant fortunes as Costa proved to be one of the club's most impactful additions, his goals leading Chelsea to two league titles in his short three-year stay. Lukaku, however, has only added to the confusion after Costa, and it is Abraham who now looks like another young talent a coach dispensed with far too soon.
Todd Boehly should pay careful attention to this example, hopefully meaning is ownership is able to enact wider change to adapt to the new landscape, putting in place a recruitment team that focuses on profiles first, not superstars.
