After beating Arsenal to the signature of Mykhaylo Mudryk, Chelsea’s Ukrainian hasn’t exactly justified his price tag just yet.
The winger arrived in January 2023 for an absolutely astonishing £89m, and therefore, he arrived with all eyes on him before he’d even kicked a ball.
However, last season, the number ten only started 18 out of his 31 Premier League appearances, netting five goals and providing two assists in the process.
While there is a feeling that the Ukraine international will come good eventually, the same cannot be said for another mega-money signing of years gone by.
What Chelsea paid for Romelu Lukaku
During the 2020/21 campaign, there weren’t many centre-forwards in Europe with a better record than Romelu Lukaku.
The Belgian’s game went to a whole new level in his second season at Inter, boasting an insane record of 24 goals and ten assists in just 32 starts.
The following summer, Chelsea broke their club record transfer fee to re-sign Lukaku, spending £97.5m to secure his services on a five-year deal.
The former Manchester United player’s start to life at Stamford Bridge was fantastic, scoring three goals in his first three games, but an interview voicing his lack of happiness at Chelsea and with manager Thomas Tuchel quickly made his return to the Blues a disaster.
Lukaku’s transfer value in 2024
Since then, Lukaku has been sent out on loan back to Italy, re-joining Inter during the 2022/23 season, scoring ten goals and providing six assists in 19 starts.
Mauricio Pochettino also saw no use for Lukaku last season, sending him on loan to Roma, where he scored 13 goals in 30 starts.
This summer, it seems that Enzo Maresca and Todd Boehly are both in agreement that his future is no longer at Chelsea, with a permanent move on the cards.
According to transfer expert Fabrizio Romano, Napoli and Udinese are keen on loaning the striker, but the Blues are determined to sell the 31-year-old, with Saudi Arabia looking like a possible destination. But what exactly is Lukaku worth in today’s market?
1. Enzo Fernandez
£84m
2. Kai Havertz
£84m
3. Moises Caicedo
£67m
4. Romelu Lukaku
£25m
5. Wesley Fofana
£17m
Well, according to CIES’ Football Observatory, Lukaku is now estimated to be worth as little as £25m, which is over £70m less than what they paid for him originally.
This makes the Red Devil worth half of what Mudryk is estimated to be valued at, £50m, which just shows how much he’s declined as an asset.
For context, he’s worth the exact same amount as Djordje Petrovic and Trevoh Chalobah, while being far less valuable than Cole Palmer at £85m.
Furthermore, the Belgium international still remains as Chelsea’s third-most expensive signing ever, but compared to the rest of the top five, minus Wesley Fofana, who’s been hit by injuries, his value has plummeted massively.
It’s quite clear that signing Lukaku could go down as one of the biggest howlers in the club’s history, as they now look to cut ties with the striker.
Chelsea will hope that the forward performs well at the European Championships this summer in order to at least raise his price a touch, but the “inconsistent” Lukaku, as dubbed by one journalist, will always be viewed as a flop by the Blues faithful.
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