Chelsea boss Mauricio Pochettino has numerous issues to deal with as his first day on the job approaches this weekend, the future of striker Romelu Lukaku being one of them.
While that decision may well be above his paygrade, with Todd Boehly very much taking a hands-on approach since becoming chairman last year, Pochettino will no doubt have a say in whether Lukaku has a part to play following his return from a loan spell with Inter Milan.
What is the latest with Romelu Lukaku's Chelsea future?
The Telegraph reports that further talks between Lukaku and Chelsea are planned for this week, and that it is in everyone's interest to find a solution sooner rather than later.
It is suggested that it is unlikely Lukaku will play any part in Chelsea's tour of the United States next month, but finding a club willing to sign him permanently – the Belgian is said to have ruled out the option of joining a Saudi club – is proving difficult.
However, a solution may soon be found as Juventus have supposedly shown an interest in signing Lukaku to replace Dusan Vlahovic, who could in turn head in the opposite direction to Stamford Bridge.
The Belgian's second stint in the capital has been nothing short of a nightmare, with an angry public interview in 2021 seeing him subsequently loaned out ever since.
Could Chelsea swap Romelu Lukaku for Dusan Vlahovic?
The intricacies of any deal are unclear at this stage, such as one club handing over a fee in part exchange, but the transfer could well make sense for both clubs.
Given his value of £52m by Football Observatory, it is likely to be Chelsea reaching for their chequebook rather than Juve.
On the face of it, there is very little between the two players when it comes to how they performed in Serie A last season. Vlahovic scored ten goals in 27 games for Juve, while Lukaku netted the same number across 25 outings for Inter.
Vlahovic's goals came from fewer shots, scoring at a rate of 0.16 goals per shot, as per FBref, compared to 0.12 for Lukaku. Those similarities continue in terms of passes completed (71.6% and 68.6% respectively) and also aerial duels won (36 v 39).
What Vlahovic provides that Lukaku does not, however, is some added balance in the final third. For example, the Serbia international won 0.28 tackles per 90 minutes last season, which is an increase on Lukaku's 0.05. That is the same case in terms of blocks: 0.47 compared to 0.16.
Once described as a "monster" by Italian football expert Carlo Garganese, there is no denying that Vlahovic's goalscoring figures have steadily declined, from 0.82 per game at Fiorentina in the first half of the 2021-22 season, to 0.59 after joining Juve later that campaign and finally to 0.47 last term.
But in a team stacked full of attacking gems, such as Mykhailo Mudryk and new signing Christopher Nkunku to name just a couple of players, it may well be that a move to Stamford Bridge unlocks the potential Vlahovic has only been able to show glimmers of in Turin.
