IAN LADYMAN: Romelu Lukaku can be Chelsea’s £98m game-changer in their bid to catch Manchester City

One of the most memorable experiences of last season was attending the Champions League final in Porto.

It felt as though a little normality had returned. There were fans in the stadium and as such there was an atmosphere. It’s amazing how much noise 16,000 people can make when they really care.

Just as importantly, it was a good game and one that took place between two teams who should have a real run at this season’s Premier League title.

Chelsea’s signing of Romelu Lukaku is a game-changer in their bid to win the Premier League

Lukaku, pictured with director Marina Granovskaia, has returned to Chelsea for £98m

Lukaku, pictured with director Marina Granovskaia, has returned to Chelsea for £98m

City are bolstered by the arrival of Jack Grealish but have not yet signed a top class striker

City are bolstered by the arrival of Jack Grealish but have not yet signed a top class striker

Manchester City — vanquished so unexpectedly that night in Portugal — will defend their domestic crown bolstered by the arrival of Jack Grealish but, so far at least, without a centre forward of repute.

Therefore, I expect Chelsea to be much closer to them than they were last May, when the gap was an enormous 19 points.

Grealish’s move to City from Aston Villa was a statement signing. The 25-year-old is a super player with an appetite for work. It will be fascinating to watch his new manager Pep Guardiola endeavour to shape him into a footballer good enough for his team and his methods.

Nevertheless, he may not be the most important signing of the summer. That may well turn out to be Chelsea landing Romelu Lukaku from Inter Milan. If that one works then it can move Thomas Tuchel’s team through the field to sit right on the shoulder of Guardiola’s champions.

There have been other big arrivals since the European Championship. Manchester United have signed quality at both ends of the field in Jadon Sancho and Raphael Varane.

Liverpool have a new central defender — the Frenchman Ibrahima Konate — who will help to insulate them from the problems that derailed them so spectacularly last time round.

Lukaku, 28, may transpire to be a last-piece-in-the-jigsaw kind of player for Chelsea's title bid

Lukaku, 28, may transpire to be a last-piece-in-the-jigsaw kind of player for Chelsea’s title bid

Thomas Tuchel’s impact at Chelsea last term was profound and we can expect more from him

Thomas Tuchel’s impact at Chelsea last term was profound and we can expect more from him

But at Chelsea, Lukaku may transpire to be a last-piece-in-the-jigsaw kind of player. I have expressed reservations about the Belgian before and they remain.

I saw familiar frailties in big moments during the Euros.

But if the 28-year-old brings goals to a team who can also expect more impact this term from forwards Timo Werner, Christian Pulisic and Kai Havertz, then it is not difficult to see where that may take them. 

Tuchel’s impact at Chelsea last season was profound and we can expect more from the German. The same can be said of some of his players. The three young Englishmen, Mason Mount, Ben Chilwell and Reece James, spring to mind.

At the very least, we should get a proper title race this season. That did not happen last time and nor the year before, when Liverpool romped to the line.

And what of the 2020 champions? Last season’s problems were clear. No team could have sustained the injuries suffered by Jurgen Klopp’s side and hoped to successfully defend a title.

Ibrahima Konate should help insulate Liverpool from the problems they faced last season

Ibrahima Konate should help insulate Liverpool from the problems they faced last season

Man United have backed Ole Gunnar Solskjaer (right) by bringing in Jadon Sancho (left)

Man United have backed Ole Gunnar Solskjaer (right) by bringing in Jadon Sancho (left)

Equally, for a spell in the middle third of their season, Liverpool mislaid the tempo, desire and power that characterise their football under the German. It is this, just as much as Virgil van Dijk and Joe Gomez, that Liverpool must welcome back over the next nine months.

There is no reason why it cannot be done. Liverpool still have the best forward line in the Premier League and last season’s finish — eight wins and two draws — was indicative of how monotonously effective they can be when their blood is up.

However, they face Chelsea, Leeds and both Manchester clubs before the middle of October, so it appears we may have some answers pretty soon.

As usual, we will hope for someone to jump from the pack as Brendan Rodgers’ admirable Leicester have done recently.

Everton under Rafael Benitez? Maybe not this season. Aston Villa? They will need a big season from Ollie Watkins. Leeds? With defensive players back from injury and a crowd inside Elland Road for the first time in the top division for two decades, they would not be the worst bet for a place in the top six.

Word from Yorkshire is that coach Marcelo Bielsa has already had his squad on three training sessions a day in pre-season, something pretty much unheard of in this country. Players have not been going home until 7pm.

Marcelo Bielsa has been whipping his Leeds side into shape with three daily training sessions

Marcelo Bielsa has been whipping his Leeds side into shape with three daily training sessions 

Leeds could rival Leicester as best of the rest behind Man City, Man United, Chelsea and City

Leeds could rival Leicester as best of the rest behind Man City, Man United, Chelsea and City

The benefits of such intense work were perhaps seen in the way Leeds played last season. With the ball, they were match for just about anyone, but at the same time shipped 54 goals, only one fewer than Burnley in 17th.

If Leeds can find a way to be more parsimonious this time, then they may well move up alongside Leicester as the best of the rest. That does not say much for the two north London clubs, perhaps. But neither Tottenham nor Arsenal have done a lot in the summer to point to great improvement on last season.

Tottenham’s pursuit of a new manager was hard to watch at times. Ultimately they ended up with a good coach but whether Nuno Espirito Santo will be able to work as effectively without a stream of players supplied to him by Jorge Mendes’ Gestifute agency — as was the case at Wolves — remains to be seen.

In the upwardly mobile category, we may be able to place Brighton, West Ham and Southampton.

Neither Tottenham nor Arsenal have done a lot to point to great improvement on last season.

Neither Tottenham nor Arsenal have done a lot to point to great improvement on last season.

The progress of Graham Potter at Brighton will be interesting, in particular. Admired by Guardiola — who has said he would like to play for him — and considered briefly by Spurs in the summer, the likeable Englishman must now do something to justify that hype.

His first two campaigns in Sussex brought 15th- and 16th-place finishes with 41 points accrued each time. Now is surely the time to move forwards.

Burnley and Crystal Palace have done little to suggest much will change for them — Palace’s appointment of Patrick Vieira as coach was baffling — while the season’s new arrivals Brentford, Norwich and Watford come with differing ideas on how to stay up. 

It would be heartening if a couple of them could pull it off.

So Chelsea for the title, Leeds for the top six and Brighton for the top 10.

As always, my advice is to keep your money in your pocket.