The curse of the quantity 9 has struck once more for Chelsea! The Blues have had horrible luck in recent times within the striker division. Gamers with the quantity 9 have massively underperformed and been bought on.
The newest on that listing is Romelu Lukaku, whose present scenario might be talked about for some time. Whereas he’s not being bought (but), the large Belgian is headed on mortgage again to Inter.
Lukaku again to Inter after his trip in London final yr 🔵⚫#CFC #Inter pic.twitter.com/YfpVRW8vwk
— FootTheBall FC (@FootTheBallFC) June 21, 2022
This comes only a yr after he signed with Chelsea for £97.5m. Lukaku by no means actually settled into the Premier League, along with his feedback about wishing to return not serving to issues both. Due to this fact, Chelsea and their new house owners needed to sheepishly reverse the switch which is admittedly one pricey mistake.
Nonetheless, Lukaku is way from the one striker, and even signing, to not work out at Stamford Bridge. FootTheBall lists down 10 of the worst signings in Chelsea historical past, in no specific order.
Romelu Lukaku
The most costly mistake on the listing. Lukaku was supposed to interrupt the mildew, the participant who would full his unfinished enterprise.
He had left Chelsea as a teen earlier than having spells with Everton, Manchester United, and Inter. The Blues have been cautious of counting on Timo Werner, so Lukaku was a good choice.
Nonetheless, the 2021-22 instructed a really totally different story. Sure, Lukaku had robust displaying, however his health and match was a problem.
Then got here the bombshell interview with Sky Sports activities, the place his love for Inter made followers cautious. It was a PR catastrophe, with Thomas Tuchel scrambling to save lots of face. Lukaku’s confidence took a large hit, and he was not a daily starter.
Is Romelu Lukaku to Chelsea the worst switch in Premier League historical past?🔵
– Signed for £100m in August
– Publicly expressed his need to depart in December
– Scored 8 PL targets
– Re-joining Inter Milan on mortgage pic.twitter.com/5Jm2nwonWu— Footy Accumulators (@FootyAccums) June 21, 2022
The targets dried up, earlier than returning for just a few video games in the direction of the tip of the season. However, the injury was finished, and Lukaku was on his manner out. Followers is not going to miss him an excessive amount of.
Andriy Shevchenko
The Champions League winner and Ukrainian legend by no means actually settled at Chelsea. Shevchenko joined in 2006 for £30.8m, however the targets didn’t circulation. He netted on his debut, however was combating an uphill battle towards Didier Drogba. 23 targets in 77 video games doesn’t appear too dangerous, however it fell nicely beneath expectations.
In the meantime, Drogba was getting an increasing number of accolades, that means Shevchenko’s time was nearing an finish. He was loaned again to Milan in 2008, earlier than signing with Dynamo Kyiv in 2009 as a free agent.
Danny Drinkwater
A profession that has actually fallen off a cliff. Drinkwater was a fixture with Leicester Metropolis as they rose from the decrease leagues to turn into Premier League champions. Nonetheless, the transfer to Chelsea by no means acquired going. Drinkwater had just a few okay-ish performances, managing 23 appearances.
He has not performed for the primary crew since 2018, and doesn’t look prone to both. Drinkwater’s most talked about second since then got here in 2020. He was sent-off in 2020 whereas taking part in for the Chelsea U23s, after a nasty problem on 16-year-old Alfie Devine.
Drinkwater hung out on mortgage with Burnley, Aston Villa, Kasimpasa, and Studying with out a lot success.
Alvaro Morata
A pricey mistake, however not the costliest. Nonetheless, that’s no solace as Morata was one other striker blunder. He was signed for a then-record £60 million, though Antonio Conte publicly mentioned he wished Lukaku.
Nonetheless, the supervisor should have been happy when Morata scored one and assisted one other on his debut.
🗓 ON THIS DAY TWO YEARS AGO:
Chelsea confirmed Alvaro Morata’s departure & then put “Extra excellent news…” of their subsequent tweet 😭 pic.twitter.com/fLL8qqOciu
— ODDSbible (@ODDSbible) July 6, 2021
Morata completed his debut season with 20 targets in 43 video games throughout all competitions. Nonetheless, the second season was tough.
Morata’s uncanny capability to be discovered offside reared up, alongside his lack of targets began compounding issues. He was loaned to Atletico Madrid in January 2019, earlier than signing with Los Rojiblancos completely in July.
Tiemoue Bakayoko
One other pricey one season mistake. Bakayoko joined in 2017, having simply gained the Ligue 1 title with Monaco. Nonetheless, Bakayoko rapidly proved to be drowning within the Premier League, and barely provided any safety for the defence.
He was usually responsible of giving the ball away and being unnecessarily arduous in challenges. Bakayoko by no means actually recovered after getting despatched off inside half-hour in a match towards Watford.
Although he did handle to look 24 instances within the league, the membership had seen sufficient. Due to this fact, he was loaned out to AC Milan in 2018, earlier than spending time with Monaco (mortgage) and Napoli (mortgage). Bakayoko was a part of the 2021-22 Scudetto profitable squad for Milan.
Fernando Torres
Some of the high-profile names on the listing, who truly did nicely sufficient. Torres set the British switch document after signing with Chelsea for £50 million in January 2011. Nonetheless, the beginning was not sizzling in any respect.
Torres netted solely as soon as in that half season, earlier than considerably recovering. 45 targets in 175 matches is just not a nasty haul, however it was a far cry from his Liverpool days.
🇪🇸 The final time Chelsea had a Spanish striker within the #UEL…
Fernando Torres 🏆#FlashbackFriday pic.twitter.com/iDHhnH5E9s
— UEFA Europa League (@EuropaLeague) August 10, 2018
Furthermore, some excessive profile misses and damage issues didn’t assist his case both. Torres’ greatest second got here within the 2012 UEFA Champions League semi remaining, with Chelsea finally profitable the competitors. He was loaned to AC Milan in 2014, earlier than signing completely with Atletico Madrid.
Michy Batshuayi
The Belgian striker, very like his worldwide teammate, was not profitable. Batshuayi was signed for £33 million in 2016 from Marseille.
He scored the title-winning aim towards West Brom in his debut season, however that was pretty much as good because it acquired. Batshuayi was not a constant starter, making on 20 appearances within the league which produced 5 targets.
Nonetheless, two targets within the first half of 2017-18 noticed him loaned out to Borussia Dortmund. That was adopted by a season-long mortgage to Valencia in 2018-19.
Batshuayi returned to Chelsea in 2019 and the next season produced six targets in 24 video games throughout all competitions. Since then, he has hung out on mortgage with Crystal Palace and Besiktas.
Baba Rahman
The left again had a good debut season after being signed from Augsburg. He made 23 appearances in all competitions, however the arrival of Antonio Conte began his downfall.
The supervisor left him out of his plans, with Baba Rahman becoming a member of Schalke on mortgage in 2016. That began a cycle of steady mortgage spells with stops at Reims, Mallorca, PAOK, and Studying. Furthermore, he’s nonetheless a Chelsea participant, simply part of their big mortgage system.
Kepa Arrizabalaga
What does the most costly goalkeeper do on the bench? You’ll have to ask Kepa, who’s firmly the secondary at Chelsea. £72 million paid to Athletic Bilbao was thought-about a dangerous funding, and it proved disastrous finally. Kepa had just a few robust performances in 2018-19, together with that well-known bust-up on area with Maurizio Sarri.
Nice ambiance in Stamford Bridge and good victory!!!! Come on blues!!!! @ChelseaFC
Gran ambiente en Stamford Bridge y buena victoria!
Giro bikaina Stamford Bridgen eta garaipen ona! pic.twitter.com/0gNLHomjLg
— Kepa Arrizabalaga (@kepa_46) August 18, 2018
Kepa stored getting simply in 2019-20. Kepa had the worst save proportion, and conceding targets virtually too simply.
Due to this fact, it was no shock when he was changed by Edouard Mendy as the primary selection. These days, Kepa performs sometimes within the home cup competitions.
Adrian Mutu
Within the early days of Roman Abramovich as proprietor, Chelsea have been investing closely on gamers. Mutu got here in from Parma for over £15 million in 2003, and made a extremely popular begin. 4 targets in his first three video games raised hopes of a deadly striker.
Nonetheless, he completed the season with simply 10 targets throughout all competitions. Mutu clashed with Jose Mourinho usually, however the main blow got here the next season.
Cocaine utilization noticed Mutu get banned for seven months in 2004. Chelsea and the Romanian acquired right into a heated authorized battle over breach of contract. In 2015, the Courtroom of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) dominated that Mutu needed to pay £15 million to Chelsea. A switch that acquired ugly for all concerned.