On paper, it appeared the perfect signing. Chelsea splashed a club record £97 million to bring Romelu Lukaku in from Inter Milan during the summer with a view to fixing their profligacy in front of goal.
Lukaku arrived in west London off the back of a season that saw him score 24 goals and contribute 10 assists in 36 Serie A games as Inter Milan won their first Scudetto in 10 years.
A misfiring Timo Werner led the line for much of the 2020-21 campaign at Stamford Bridge and Chelsea still came away with a Champions League title.
So by simply swapping him for Lukaku at the point of Thomas Tuchel's 3-4-2-1 set up, the Blues could well be unstoppable. Watch out Manchester City.
But the plan has not come to fruition.
With 25 matches now played in the top flight this term, the 28-year-old has just five goals to his name, having played in 17 of those fixtures.
Everything started well enough, with Lukaku grabbing four goals in his first four matches in all competitions. But in the Premier League, he boasts a measly two in his last 14 outings.
Goals in the semi-final and final of the Club World Cup in Abu Dhabi teased a return to form but Saturday's display in the 1-0 victory away to Crystal Palace quickly extinguished that enthusiasm as Lukaku came away with the unwanted record of the fewest touches in a Premier League match since records began (7).
Tuchel, who suggested that strikers have regularly struggled at Stamford Bridge, did not attempt to sugar coat the performance after full-time.
“What can I do?” Tuchel said.
“I don’t know. We have to deal with it. The data is out there and the data speaks a certain language. He was not involved in our game. It’s not what we want or Romelu wants but it’s not the time to laugh and make jokes about him.
"He’s in the spotlight and we’ll protect him.”
While instances such as the striker's ankle injury and ill-judged interview with Italian media have been blamed to a certain extent for the striker's poor form, it is perhaps remiss to pin the blame on the striker entirely.
The question mark should start to also hang over Tuchel. Is this a problem of the manager's making and is he doing enough to solve it?
Alan Shearer suggested not on Match Of The Day on Saturday night.
"There's no point paying [£97.5million] if you're not going to play to your forward's strength. It's very frustrating," the legendary striker said.
"It's clear that they're not working on things on the training ground because they're not doing it in the game for him or for the team."
The impact and influence of Lukaku's supporting cast should also be questioned.
Hakim Ziyech, Callum Hudson-Odoi and Christian Pulisic have all played at their best in more traditional wing positions and have frequently struggled to influence games when played in an attacking midfield duo behind the striker. Kai Havertz has also struggled to find his ideal place in Tuchel's set up.
While none of the players were signed by Tuchel, he has had 13 months to find a solution and sell his vision. But, despite even tinkering with his beloved formation, he is yet to strike gold.
With Lille visiting in the Champions League on Tuesday night it could provide the perfect opportunity to take a risk and try an approach that plays to the striker's strengths.
Lukaku's form will always circle back to the player himself but Saturday's performance showed that more is needed from everyone at the club to get the Belgian back to his goalscoring best.
