#3 Shaun Wright-Phillips
Shaun Wright-Phillips moved to Chelsea in a £21m deal from Manchester City as part of the Russian revolution under Roman Abramovich.
He broke into the Manchester City side as an 18-year-old and went on to establish himself as a first-team regular under Kevin Keegan. He won City’s “Young Player of the Year award” a record 3 times, before catching the eye of Chelsea, who snapped him up on a 5-year contract in 2005.
But the pressure of a hefty price-tag and the unenviable task of breaking into a team filled to the brim with superstars meant Phillips wasn’t getting the game-time that his talent warranted. Fighting it out with the likes of Arjen Robben, Joe Cole and Damien Duff, he spent most of his time at Chelsea on the bench and that consequentially affected his blossoming England career.
He missed out on England’s squad for the 2006 World Cup and missing out on a spot in the squad for the Blues’ Champions League finals clash against Manchester United, effectively signalling an end to his Chelsea career.
He then made a move back to Manchester City, but failed to impress. A further spell at Queens Park Rangers didn’t reignite a faltering career and he now plies his trade in the MLS for the New York Red Bulls.
