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Chelsea dominated the headlines once again this summer when they completed a big-money deal to lure Romelu Lukaku from Inter Milan. The Blues paid a whopping €115 million to secure the striker's services and that has been the highest figure recorded so far during the current transfer window. It is also the most expensive transfer in the club's history.
After switching to Stamford Bridge for the second time in his career, Lukaku has two pathways ahead of him. He could follow the path of the legendary names who arrived on similar grounds and went ahead to justify their price tags. Or he might tread the path of other big-money signings who turned out to be fruitless investments at Stamford Bridge.
Speaking of the second category, Chelsea have recorded a lot of such cases over the years. Players who got the football world on its feet while representing their previous clubs and were snapped up by the Blues at lofty costs. But they ended up becoming premium flops upon switching to Stamford Bridge. Below, we highlight five of them.
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#5 Danny Drinkwater
The midfield pair of Ngolo Kante and Danny Drinkwater was a joy to watch during the 2015-2016 campaign. They ran riot in the center of the park and were highly influential as Leicester City won the Premier League title that season. Chelsea signed Kante at the end of the term and a year later added Drinkwater to their ranks.
The England international was lured to Stamford Bridge in a deal worth €38 million. But unlike his counterpart, Drinkwater flopped at Chelsea. His level of performance dropped massively upon switching clubs and he's failed to break into the team despite spending five years in London. He has managed just 23 appearances for Chelsea, scoring once and failing to register any assists.
The midfielder has been sent out on loan in each of the last three years, playing for the likes of Burnley, Aston Villa and Kasimpasa.
#4 Andriy Shevchenko
The Ukraine striker was expected to light up the Premier League following a €44 million move to Chelsea ahead of the 2006-2007 season. Prior to the transfer, he had set Serie A on fire with a number of eye-catching displays for AC Milan. However, like the other names on this list, Shevchenko also had a spell to forget at Stamford Bridge.
The striker scored 23 goals for the Blues across two seasons and was eventually frozen out of the team as his struggles continued. He was loaned back to AC Milan and later Dynamo Kiev, spending a year each at the two clubs before leaving for free at the end of his contract in 2010.
#3 Fernando Torres
Chelsea made Fernando Torres the most expensive signing in their history when they paid Liverpool €58 million to secure the signature of the striker. Torres was at the peak of his career when the deal happened, making it difficult to understand why he flopped at Stamford Bridge.
Although the Spaniard had a few good moments in the Blues' shirt, his overall level of performance was very poor and he appeared to have completely lost his goalscoring instincts.
At the end of the 2013-2014 campaign, in which he bagged just five goals and 28 Premier League appearances, Chelsea decided to get rid of the Spaniard. Torres was eventually sent on loan to AC Milan. The Italian giants decided to sign him on a permanent deal afterwards but Torres never returned to top form until he retired in 2019.
#2 Kepa Arrizabalaga
Kepa Arrizabalaga arrived as the most expensive goalkeeper in history, as Chelsea paid a whopping €80 million to sign him from Athletic Bilbao in 2018. However, Kepa's time at Stamford Bridge has proven to be disastrous so far.
The goalkeeper made it to the headlines for the wrong reasons when he refused to be substituted during the 2018 Carabao Cup final and consequently cost the Blues the trophy. He was relegated to the bench by then manager Maurizio Sarri as a penalty for his misconduct. That was the turning point of a career that held a lot of promise.
The penalty lasted just a few weeks but Kepa is yet to regain his spot in the starting line-up, even up until today. He currently serves as a backup to Chelsea's recent signing Edouard Mendy. On the bright side, the young keeper's heroics in Chelsea's UEFA Super Cup win over Villareal could yet result in a change in fortunes.
#1 Alvaro Morata
Chelsea's initial attempt to sign Romelu Lukaku failed in 2017 so they decided to sign Alvaro Morata instead. They paid Real Madrid €66 million to let go of the striker. As expected of every big-money transfer, all eyes were on the Spaniard to justify his price at Stamford Bridge.
Morata got off to a promising start in the Premier League where he bagged eight goals and four assists in his first 11 games. However, things soon turned sour after that. The striker's career went on a downslide, notably in his second year during which he failed to keep his place in the starting lineup and was used sparringly.
The Spaniard was later offloaded after bagging 24 goals for the Blues across two seasons. He joined Atletico Madrid on loan ahead of the 2018-2019 campaign and the Spanish giants eventually decided to sign him permanently at the end of the term for €35 million.
