5 big-money flops in Chelsea history

Chelsea splashed the cash last summer and it didn't really work out as well as they would have wanted. They have some history when it comes to signing some big-money flops.

Ever since Roman Abramovich took over at Chelsea, the Blues have invested heavily in the transfer market in order to bolster their squad. They have brought in some excellent players who have been fundamental to their success over the past couple of decades.

However, they have also got it horribly wrong and have shelled out tens of millions of pounds on players who have let them down heavily. Even last summer, Chelsea spent in excess of €200 million but most of them are yet to hit their stride at Stamford Bridge.

The likes of Timo Werner and Kai Haverts should try their best not to take after the ones we've got on our list. Let's take a look at Chelsea's big-money flops.

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5 big-money flops in Chelsea history

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#5 Fernando Torres

Chelsea v Manchester City - Premier League

Yes, we get it. Fernando Torres won the Champions League with Chelsea and if you look at his numbers, you could say that history will go kinder on him as time goes on. But Fernandro Torres' career could be divided into two parts - Fernando Torres before Chelsea and Fernando Torres after Chelsea.

Torres joined Chelsea as one of sthe best striker the Premier League had seen in a while. There were no defenders in the league who could keep up with the Spaniard at the time. But after joining Chelsea, he didn't fall from grace, he plummeted.

Chelsea signed him for a then-record British fee of €58.5 million from Liverpool. Yes, he did score a very important goal against Barcelona in the semifinals on their way to the Champions League title but a return of 45 goals from 172 appearances is not what the Blues were expecting.

#4 Andriy Shevchenko

Chelsea v Rosenberg - UEFA Champions League

Andriy Shevchenko is another striker singing that was expected to have a big impact at the club. The Ukrainian had become one of the finest strikers in the game at AC Milan but rumors suggested that Jose Mourinho wasn't keen on bringing him to Chelsea.

However, Roman Abramovich went ahead and signed him up anyway. Shevchenko cost Chelsea £30 million + add-ons. For someone who came to West London with the promise of goals, Shevchenko contributed rather scantily in that regard.

He left the club three years later after scoring just 22 goals across three years.

#3 Danny Drinkwater

Chelsea v Stoke City - Premier League

When Leicester City won the Premier League title in the 2015-16 season, everyone expected to see one of those big fish eat small fish situations.

Other than the obvious stars of the team, Jamie Vardy and Riyad Mahrez, the Foxes were buoyed by the excellent midfield partnership between N'Golo Kante and Danny Drinkwater.

So when Chelsea decided to partner Kante with Drinkwater at Stamford Bridge, they must have believed that it would work like a charm. However, it didn't go according to plan and Drinkwater ended up being iced out under Maurizio Sarri after making just 23 appearances for the Blues across all competitions.

He was bought for a sum in the ballpark of £35 million and is currently on loan at Super Lig club Kasimpasa.

#2 Alvaro Morata

Chelsea v Huddersfield Town - Premier League

Chelsea had to replace Diego Costa in the summer of 2017 and were initially linked with Romelu Lukaku. However, Lukaku ended up signing for Manchester United and Chelsea decided to bring in Alvaro Morata from Real Madrid and they paid €66 million for him.

Morata had enjoyed a fruitful loan spell at Juventus. After returning to Real Madrid, he was their second-choice striker but had managed to score more than 20 goals in the league. He came with a lot of expectations.

Morata faded after impressing initially and before long, he became a non-entity at the club. Morata scored a total of 24 goals from thrice as many outings for Chelsea and was sent on loan to Atletico Madrid with an obligation to buy. The 28-year-old is currently on loan at Juventus from Atletico Madrid and has been doing well so far.

But he will go down in Chelsea's history as a big-money flop and there is no way about it.

#1 Kepa Arrizabalaga

Chelsea FC v Liverpool FC - Premier League

When Thibaut Courtois finally got his wish and secured a move to Real Madrid, Chelsea were tasked with finding a world-class goalkeeper who could replicate the Belgian's heroics between the sticks. They paid the big bucks but ended up with a faulty product.

Where do we start with Kepa? He is a nervy keeper who is extremely prone to errors and he doesn't have a great attitude either. Once tipped to displace David de Gea as Spain's no.1, Kepa Arrizabalaga is now Chelsea's biggest regret in their transfer history.

He was signed for £71.6 million and is currently third-choice at Chelsea under Edouard Mendy and Willy Caballero. Kepa has started just three games in the Premier League this season and has conceded six goals. That kind of sums it up, doesn't it?