Romelu Lukaku is the one Destiny wants. The stunning return of the 28-year old to Chelsea from Internazionale was a remarkable one. It fell just short of breaking Britain's transfer record for the second consecutive week, following Manchester City's 100 million purchase of Jack Grealish.Clubs have been divided by the financial consequences of COVID-19, which has polarized their power in transfer markets. Roman Abramovich, the billionaire owner of Chelsea, has a smart and brutal recruitment strategy that places Chelsea in a position to exploit Inter's weaknesses.Suning has been discussing the sale of the Nerazzurri after an 11-year wait to win the Serie A title. However, the owners have faced the double threat of lower income due to the pandemic as well as an instruction from Chinese President Xi Jinping requesting that domestic investors refocus their ambitions. Inter had already sent Achraf Hakimi, a defender, to Paris Saint-Germain, for 70 million. Now, they have lost Lukaku who, after scoring 44 goals in 63 games, has become the most popular star in Serie A.Inter supporters are furious against his departure and the fan backlash is already in full swing. Protests are placing pressure on the board.Stream ESPN FC Daily on ESPN+ (U.S. Only)- Do you not have ESPN? Get instant accessESPN reported that the Blues were considering their options after receiving two rejections. However, a key factor was Lukaku's subsequent communication to the Inter hierarchy that he would like leave if a suitably bid arrived.Why did Lukaku decide to join Chelsea? Lukaku finally got the opportunity to play with Didier Drogba, one of his greatest heroes.Backroom staff organized for Lukaku to be sat next to Drogba at Cobham when he signed for Chelsea in 2011 from Anderlecht, for 18m.Given their strong physiques and similar playing styles, there were obvious similarities: both were powerful centre-forwards who could intimidate defenders. Lukaku admired Drogba for the difficulties he faced earlier in his career.In his autobiography, "Commitment", Drogba said that he considered leaving Chelsea at the end of his second season in 2005-06. He felt misunderstood, underappreciated, and was unsure how to adapt to English football. Drogba was regarded as a blunt instrument and criticized by others for his tendency to go to the ground too often.Five years later, Lukaku was in West London and Drogba had established his legendary status as one the Premier League's greatest players. Lukaku was unable to get a match, and he watched as Drogba scored the winning penalty against Bayern Munich. This victory gave Chelsea their maiden Champions League trophy.Lukaku referred to Drogba as his "icon" in a fairytale ending that led him to call Drogba his "icon" a few years later, even though it was at the cost of his own story. Chelsea chose to have Drogba return as a veteran for another spell at the club in 2014, rather than giving Lukaku the responsibility of leading the line.Lukaku only made 15 appearances for Chelsea. He was then loaned to West Bromwich Albion (and then Everton) who paid a club record 28m for him in 2015. Drogba ended his career with a Champions League crown, four Premier Leagues and four FA Cups. He also won one Turkish Super Lig title with Galatasaray. This was an Ivory Coast record.Romelu Lukaku signed with Chelsea a decade back, and his return to Stamford Bridge was sealed on Thursday. Darren Walsh/Chelsea FC via Getty ImagesESPN has been told by sources that Lukaku and Drogba are still in touch. They share advice and have shared experiences that have helped him to feel ready to play English football again. Drogba can't wait, too. He sent a tweet five days before Thursday's confirmation with a photo of Lukaku and the words "He's returning home." Both Lukaku, and Chelsea feel that the time is right. Both Lukaku & Chelsea feel like the right time.Drogba scored 164 goals for Chelsea in 381 matches. Only Bobby Tambling (202), Kerry Dixon (193) and Frank Lampard (21) have more. He was a formidable centre-forward who could win games by himself, combining sublime technique and intelligence with incredible power and aerial prowess. He was simply unplayable.Although Chelsea consider him to be irreplaceable, they are not denying that he is an asset. Since Drogba's departure in 2012, the club has spent around 230m on forwards. Drogba was the first to be replaced by a dozen people, but only one of them has succeeded.Diego Costa was a 32m signing in 2014 from Atletico Madrid. He spent three years with the club, winning the Premier League title twice. This was primarily due to his 52 goals in 89 matches. Costa's antagonistic style, which saw 31 yellow cards in 120 games only scratches the surface of what he did to others -- earned him very few fans beyond Stamford Bridge. He eventually became tired of English football as Drogba threatened.Olivier Giroud, Costa and Alvaro Morata have all played admirable supporting roles in recent seasons. However, Fernando Torres and Loic Remy were not as successful as Fernando Torres and Alvaro Morata. Loan moves for Radamel Falcao and Gonzalo Higuain also failed to yield any dividends. After a poor first season in England Timo Werner threatened to join the list. Lukaku was therefore recruited.According to ESPN, Chelsea was the primary target of Erling Haaland. However, Borussia Dortmund have refused to sell the 21-year old prodigy. There is widespread recognition that the Blues need a 20-goal striker if they are to challenge for the Premier League title.When Lukaku last played in England, there were doubts about his ability to be that player. He is a popular bet.Lukaku was close to joining Chelsea in 2017, when Everton became clear that he was outgrowing Everton. Jose Mourinho's presence in Manchester United was a major factor in his decision. However, sources claim that Chelsea's refusal to pay Lukaku's agent Mino Raiola a large fee was more important.Play 1:31 Leboeuf would love to see Lukaku at Chelsea Chelsea legend Frank Leboeuf loves Romelu Lukaku, who is reportedly close to returning to Stamford Bridge.His two years at United were uneventful. After a blistering start, 11 of his 42 goals, or 26% of the club's total, were scored in his first two months at United. However, he began to show indifferent form, which led to questions about his conditioning and application.Ole Gunnar Solskjaer took over from Mourinho in December 2018, and began to build a team that wanted to play for United. He felt they were better without Lukaku and he found himself at Inter in 2019, having to prove himself again.Lukaku began this task by losing weight. Lukaku lost approximately 3 kilograms in a month after he arrived at San Siro. Antonio Conte, his manager, told him to follow Bresaola's diet. This focuses on eating white meat and plenty of vegetables.He has greatly improved his link-up play. This is something Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel admitted his team were lacking after Giroud's departure from AC Milan.STREAM ESPN FC Daily on ESPN+ Dan Thomas is joined with Craig Burley, Shaka Herlop and other experts to bring you the most recent highlights and discuss the major storylines. Stream on ESPN+ (U.S only)."With Olivier Giroud's departure, we could use a player who plays with their backs to goals and whose strength it is to keep possession of long balls so that we can add this style of play into our portfolio. This is the characteristic of a player that isn't Tammy [Abraham], Timo [Havertz]," said the Blues boss earlier this month. This is a profile that we don't have and could be useful but not at any cost. We will still be competitive no matter what.Lukaku is now a fully-formed centre-forward. Chelsea paid top dollar, but it's unlikely that he will ever be resold. Lukaku's all-time record of 251 goals scored in 508 club appearances and 64 for Belgium in 1998 is something few can match. Perhaps more importantly, he feels ready be considered one of the greatest in the world.Lukaku stated during Euro 2020 that "When people talk about Robert] Lewandowski and [Karim] Benzema [Luis] Suarez [Harry] Kane], they would say it’s world-class level. With me, it's always about good form." "I think I have proven it in the last two years that I am more than just good form. I belong to that group. I am at that level.Drogba would approve.
