11 Worst signings Chelsea has made in Premier League era
Aug 15, 2016 at 3:08 PM
Chelsea have arguably grown into one of the top clubs in entire Europe in 21st Century. The club was acquired by Roman Abramovich in early 2000s and have seen a sudden rise due to the amount of money that was invested into the club.
The arrival of Jose Mourinho from Porto in 2004 has completely transformed the club into a super-power in England as they won consecutive Premier League titles in his first two years. The Blues have also clinched Europa League as well as Champions League in the following years.
Despite the heavy money spending, here we look at the 11 worst signings ever made by Chelsea in the Premier League era.
11. Glen Johnson
The first signing of Chelsea in Roman Abramovich era, Johnson have joined the Blues in 2003 from West Ham for a reported fee of £6 million. The full-back has failed miserably during his time at Chelsea as he managed a mere 70 appearances for Chelsea across all competitions in his four year spell. He moved to Portsmouth in 2007.
10. Robert Fleck
One of the major signings in Chelsea history at the beginning of Premier League era, the Blues have signed Robert Fleck for a massive £2.1m which was a club-record then in 1992.
However, the striker failed to live up to the expectations as he scored only four goals in 48 appearances for the Blues as he was a huge failure.
9. Khalid Boulahrouz
In August 2006, Chelsea have signed Dutch defender Khalid Boulahrouz for a reported fee of £8.5 million. He wore No.9 jersey which is unconventional for any centre-back.
The defender has managed only 20 appearances for Blues before being shipped out to Sevilla on loan and making a switch back to Bundesliga after the loan spell.
8. Shaun Wright Phillips
One of the highly rated English wingers, Shaun Wright Phillips have made a switch to Chelsea from Manchester City in 2005 for a massive £21 million. But the young English winger has failed to match up with pace as he ended a horrifying three year spell at Chelsea by moving back to Manchester City in 2008.
7. Deco
One of the highly rated midfielders in the world during his time which prompted Chelsea to pay €10 million to secure him from Barcelona in 2008. But the Brazilian has failed to live to the expectations despite having an impressive start to the Blues career.
He eventually left the club on a free transfer to Brazilian club Fluminese after a two year spell.
6. Chris Sutton
Chelsea have brought in BlackBurn Rovers striker Chris Sutton for a massive £10 million back in 1999. The player failed to lived up to the price tag as he had a very unhappy spell with the Blues.
He managed to score only once in 28 premier league appearances before moving to Celtic next summer.
5. Juan Sebastian Veron
Veron has joined Manchester United for a British-record fee of £28.1 million but have failed miserably during his time at Old Trafford. Chelsea have signed the Argentine two years later for £15 million but the Argentine has yet again failed making him one of the worst signings for both the clubs in their histories.
4. Hernan Crespo
Crespo has joined Chelsea for £16.8 million in 2003 from Inter Milan. However, the player has found it difficult under new manager Jose Mourinho before he was shipped out to Milan following the arrival of Mourinho.
The Argentine was called back again before being loaned out yet again the following year to Inter Milan. He left the club on a free transfer to Inter Milan.
3. Andriy Shevchenko
One of the greatest players in Milan’s history, Andriy Shevchenko has joined Chelsea in 2006 for around £31 million which is a British record transfer fee back then. The striker have failed to lived up to the expectations and pressure as he managed to score only 16 goals for Chelsea in all competitive games over his two year spell.
The Ukrainian left to Milan on a loan deal before moving to his former club Dynamo Kyiv.
2. Fernando Torres
The Spanish striker have moved from Liverpool to Chelsea in winter transfer window of 2011 for a massive £50 million which broke then British transfer record. Having been a massive hit at both Liverpool and Atletico Madrid earlier, Torres was tipped to become a huge hit with the Blues.
But the Spaniard managed a single goal in his debut season with Chelsea having joined in January. The miserable spell continued as he managed only 43 goals for the Blues in 175 games during the four year spell at Stamford Bridge. He was eventually loaned out to Milan in 2014.
1. Adrian Mutu
One of the signings in Abramovich’s first season, Adrian Mutu is the most controversial signing in Blues history. The player moved from Parma for €22.5m. He scored 10 goals in 35 appearances for the Blues in the debut season.
However, in September 2004 he failed the drugs test for Cocaine and was expelled from the club in October. The club went on to seek compensation from Mutu as they managed to get back around €17 million.