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Chelsea have enjoyed immense success over the last two decades.
After Roman Abramovich’s takeover in 2003, the Blues have established themselves as one of the strongest English sides. Since the arrival of their current owners, they have won two UEFA Champions League trophies and five Premier League titles.
The Londoners have also spent the most money in Premier League history at €2.54 billion. The influx of transfer funds has played a significant role in the surge of honors in the Stamford Bridge trophy cabinet. However, their signings haven’t always turned out to be good.
Chelsea have found it hard to consistently recruit world-class strikers
Chelsea have had bad luck with their striker acquisitions. Apart from Didier Drogba and Diego Costa, none of their number 9s have asserted their dominance for the Blues. Despite signing some of the best strikers on the planet, the striker's curse at Stamford Bridge has prevailed and seems to be continuing even this season.
The reigning Champions League winners have had many flops in the Premier League era. Despite having these underperforming players within their ranks, they have still managed to become one of the most successful teams in England.
That being said, let’s look at their five biggest flops in Premier League history.
#5 Tiemoue Bakayoko - €40 million
Tiemoue Bakayoko rose to fame during Monaco’s Ligue 1-winning season and like most teammates, Bakayoko also earned a big-money move the following summer.
Bakayoko was signed for a fee of €40 million by Chelsea and there were high expectations for the Frenchman. However, his displays in midfield were disappointing at best.
He took the field for the Blues on 43 occasions and was guilty of regularly losing possession in midfield. Bakayoko's outings against Newcastle United and Watford in the 2017-18 league campaign were littered with mistakes and brought him plenty of criticism.
Once dubbed as a “complete midfielder” by France coach Didier Deschamps, Bakayoko turned out to be anything but that. The 27-year-old has only featured once for the national team. Currently on his fourth consecutive loan move, Bakayoko is rather shockingly still on Chelsea's books.
#4 Fernando Torres - €58.50 million
Chelsea broke the bank to sign Fernando Torres for a then-record British transfer fee. While there was no doubt about the Spaniard’s brilliance, it was still a ludicrous amount of money for securing his services. The Blues signed him on deadline day of the 2011 winter transfer window.
Torres scored 81 goals in 142 appearances for Liverpool and was a phenomenon during his time on Merseyside. However, his form dropped dramatically after making the switch to London. He found the back of the net just 45 times in 172 games for the Blues, an underwhelming figure for such a highly-paid player.
The Spanish striker joined the Blues to win trophies. While he added some silverware to his trophy collection, the move took a toll on his individual performances. He joined AC Milan in 2015 for a meager fee of €1 million, ultimately resulting in a massive loss for Chelsea.
#3 Danny Drinkwater - €37.90 million
Chelsea’s experience with Danny Drinkwater in the Premier League is quite similar to that of their affair with Tiemoue Bakayoko. Both midfielders were impressive for their previous clubs and were signed in the summer of 2017 for a fee of around €40 million.
Drinkwater, however, is a bigger flop as his career has been absolutely obliterated since moving to Stamford Bridge. While Bakayoko is still only 27 and is on loan in Milan, the Englishman is plying his trade in the EFL Championship with Reading. The 31-year-old’s market value is just €1.80 million at the moment.
The former Leicester City midfielder has played just 23 times for the Londoners. Over the last four years, he has been loaned to multiple clubs including Burnley, Aston Villa and Kasimpasa. He remains on the Blues' books but unlike Bakayoko, Drinkwater’s Chelsea career is on the verge of coming to a definitive end.
#2 Andriy Shevchenko - €43.88 million
Andriy Shevchenko was one of the most prolific strikers of the early 2000s. In 322 matches for AC Milan, the Ukrainian scored 175 times and provided 45 assists. His exploits earned him the 2004 Ballon d’Or award, making him the first and only player from his nation to receive the accolade.
Shevchenko joined Chelsea in 2006 for a substantial amount of €43.88 million. The serial goalscorer was expected to hit the ground running. In contrast, he only found the net five times in 30 Premier League appearances during his first campaign.
The Ukrainian’s failure to adapt to the pace of the English top-flight, coupled with the pressure of the price tag, bogged him down and into the ground. His struggles continued throughout his stint at Stamford Bridge, and he managed to score only 22 times in 77 appearances.
Shevchenko eventually returned to Milan on loan before completing his career with Dynamo Kyiv.
#1 Alvaro Morata - €66 million
Alvaro Morata’s torrid time in England can be attributed to a mixture of lack of confidence and his failure to score from big chances. When he arrived, Morata, like Shevchenko and Torres, was the club’s record signing.
The former Real Madrid striker, however, wasn’t as established as the aforementioned duo were ahead of their respective moves to Chelsea. Morata was seen as a long-term option to solve their striker woes but that wasn’t to be, as he was shipped back to Spain in 2020.
Morata netted just 24 times in 72 matches, amounting to a goal in every three games. This output is unacceptable for a player who commanded such a high transfer fee. The 29-year-old is still struggling with confidence, which is noticeable because of his moments of panic in front of goal.
To date, Morata has had just two campaigns with 10+ goals despite featuring for multiple giants across Europe.
