The worst Chelsea Deadline Day signings

With all the fuss on deadline day about who is coming and who is going, it is easy to forget that a deadline day transfer does not always work out.

From taking time to settle down, to the timelines stopping the club from doing enough due diligence, we have had our share of deadline day flops and misfires.

Fortunately Chelsea have not done too much business on deadline day, but here are some of the ones that did not quite work out.

Fernando Torres – £50 million

Torres was already in decline when Chelsea chose to buy him for 50 million pounds (Getty Images)

A pick that will divide Chelsea fans given the fact we have won two European trophies since he has arrived, but given his inflated deadline day transfer fee, he delivered a poor return on investment for the club.

Fernando Torres was at his best, one of the top strikers in the world, yet he was on the decline before Chelsea signed him and since signing two-and-a-half years ago has yet to recapture his best form.

His commitment has been good and after failing to become a goal scoring machine he will become a squad option under Jose Mourinho. He still has a chance to contribute even if he is not the player the club expected for £50 million.

Raul Meireles – £12 million

Raul Meireles came in as a surprise and even managed to pip Frank Lampard to the starting line-up (Getty Images)

A surprise transfer, Meireles arrived under Andre Villas-Boas in the 2011 summer window for a fee believed to be around £12 million.

News of the transfer was given a mixed reaction from Chelsea fans, particularly on occasions when he was selected ahead of Frank Lampard.

To brand Meireles a total flop would be inaccurate; he had his moments as a Chelsea player (think Benfica in the Champions League), but was too inconsistent for a place in the Chelsea starting line up despite some good performances.

Despite becoming a champion of Europe he was sold by Roberto Di Matteo, just after the British transfer window closed, to Turkish side Fenerbache.

The player signed from Liverpool was never really given a full crack of the whip, but as we sold him for a loss he goes down as a slight deadline day flop.

Robinho – The One That Got Away

Manchester City beat Chelsea to the signing of Robinho (Getty Images)

Not really a signing, but one that got away and a deadline day disaster (at the time) for the club.

He seemed set to sign for Chelsea, but in the summer of 2008, Manchester City were taken over and set about spending their money in the space of only one or two days.

They set their eyes on Robinho and hijacked the transfer to the surprise of many including Robinho himself who embarrassingly said he was “happy to sign for Chelsea” during his Manchester City unveiling.

He was hastily corrected, but the damage was done and despite one decent season he soon faded away and was sold on by Manchester City at a loss without contributing to any silverware at Manchester City.