Romelu Lukaku's Chelsea failure wasn't a surprise and offers clear lesson to all stars

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Romelu Lukaku's failed return to Chelsea is a ­massive lesson to every young player.

It doesn’t matter what level you are at, if you can find yourself a home and you’re happy there, don’t move away just for money. I said several times over the course of last season that Lukaku was never going to be the fox-in-the-box type the Blues needed.

So I’m not surprised his return to Stamford Bridge from Inter Milan went up in smoke as quickly as it did. The only person who has benefited from the whole sorry saga is the player’s agent, who must be ­laughing his head off that he has trousered ­whopping cuts from two deals in the space of 12 months.

Although, what has happened to Lukaku is the result of an age-old problem in football and something many players face at some point in their careers. A club will make an offer on personal terms and, no matter how many times they are rebuffed, they will keep coming back with more. Basically, a case of, ‘How much do we need to offer this fella before he folds’? And it’s in this kind of situation where players need to be strong.

They must sit down on their own – no family members, no agents – and go through a process in which they ask themselves several questions:

If you have most, if not all, of those things then my advice is to stay put, even if another club is ­offering double what you’re ­earning. Lukaku could