The 5 worst signings in Chelsea's history

#2 Andriy Shevchenko

Andriy Shevchenko's reputation took a major hit during his time at Chelsea

Ukrainian hitman Andriy Shevchenko came to Chelsea with a reputation as one of the world’s greatest strikers, but unfortunately, he’d gained that reputation largely in the years prior to 2006. By that point, Shevchenko was 30 years old and appeared to be slightly past his prime. But that didn’t stop Roman Abramovich parting with £30.8m for him, handing him to boss Jose Mourinho who didn’t seem too enthusiastic about the new signing.

Shevchenko was given a fair chance in the Premier League – 22 starts in his debut season – but he never looked like the player who had once terrorised defences all over Europe, and he ended 2006/07 with just 4 league goals to his name and quickly developed a reputation as a big-money flop.

Despite some rumours around his future, 2007/08 saw Shevchenko remain at Stamford Bridge, but he was still unable to regain his form; 5 goals in 17 league matches and a further 4 goals in other competitions was his return for the season, nowhere close to the 34 in 51 games he’d scored for Milan in 2000/01.

When 2008/09 began, new Chelsea boss Phil Scolari decided Shevchenko was surplus to requirements and sent him back on loan to AC Milan for a season – and while he did return to Stamford Bridge for the start of 2009/10, he quickly moved to his original haunt of Dynamo Kyiv before the summer’s transfer window closed, bringing an end to a truly terrible stint in London.