Top 10 Chelsea worst signings – Romelu Lukaku on the list
When it comes to football, every team has experienced its fair share of both successes and failures in the transfer market. Chelsea Football Club is no exception. In this article, we delve into the top 10 Chelsea worst signings in history, analyzing their performances, their impact on the team, and the lessons learned. Join us on this journey as we uncover the missteps and evaluate the consequences of these signings.
List of Chelsea Worst Signings Ever
While some players came to shine, others showed up to watch their careers wilt and die. Although it is a part of football, it appears to occur at Stamford Bridge far too frequently for it to be simply a coincidence.
Scroll down our blog post to discover the worst Chelsea signings ever.
10. Romelu Lukaku
It’s hard to believe that Lukaku is on the list of Chelsea’s worst signings, isn’t it?
Until recently, Romelu Lukaku seemed the perfect fit for Thomas Tuchel and The Blues.
As the new club manager attempted to recover in the Premier League and wrest the league title away from Manchester City, the towering striker was considered the final part of the puzzle. After making 44 appearances for Inter, he scored 30 goals and added 10 assists. He then came back to Stamford Bridge.
The primary problem with Lukaku is that he hasn’t lived up to the hype surrounding him as a top player for the Blues. With a price tag of around £103.5 million, the Belgian striker was the fourth most pricey player in Premier League history and the most pricey player ever acquired by the English club.
So, although he was not one of the worst Chelsea strikers, he completely was on the blacklist!
9. Yossi Benayoun
Many people used to enjoy seeing Yossi Benayoun play since he was a decent player. His midfield inventiveness and passing prowess were reminiscent of Cesc Fabregas’. Benayoun, however, could not succeed at west London for whatever reason. He did not play for a sustained time with the first team and was barely in the starting lineup.
Ultimately, Benayoun was loaned out to Arsenal, which is a harsh statement of what the worst Chelsea signing he was.
- Read more: Top 10 best Chelsea players of all time
8. Andriy Shevchenko
This player ranks eighth on our list due to his outrageous cost. He also failed to live up to his great expectations when he joined as one of the best strikers worldwide.
Shevchenko was kindly imposed on Jose Mourinho after Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich bought him despite Mourinho’s objections.
Shevchenko came to the Blues for £30 million, a club-record sum at that time. Yet, throughout his three years there, he only scored 22 goals.
7. Mark Bosnich
After switching from Manchester United to The Blue, Bosnich only appeared on the field seven times in two years. Because of his failure, he even failed a drug test and received a nine-month suspension. Following this, Bosnich was fired in 2002.
6. Winston Bogarde
In 2000, the Dutchman became one of The Blue after the free transfer from Barcelona. However, he made a lot of money at the time, £40,000 per week. He only created four starts in his four years with the team, and his prolonged stay was only possible because of his persistence.
Due to his excessive pay and failure to join the first squad, the Blues wanted to get rid of him. But Bogarde refused to go because he was content to make millions of dollars doing nothing.
He eventually gave up soccer after being forced to leave the team because he could not find another team.
5. Khalid Boulahrouz
On his good days, Khalid Boulahrouz wasn’t an awful defender. He got an £8.5 million transfer from Hamburg in 2006, but he only had 9 Blues appearances. With that performance, he was on the list of Chelsea worst signings ever.
Everything for this Dutchman seemed quite hopeless. He could not even make the squad when Ricardo Carvalho or John Terry were injured. Instead, Michael Essien became a temporary center-back in their place.
4. Shaun Wright-Phillips
He was quick, athletic, agile, and capable of whipping a cross on his best day. But he was very horrible when he was at his worst. When Wright-Phillips was acquired in 2005 for £21 million from Manchester City, there were high expectations for him to develop and become well-known. Sadly, he began his career with The Blue as a substitute.
He played 125 times for The Blues, although more than half of those came as an impact sub. For a final fee of £8.5 million, he rejoined Manchester City in 2008.
- Read more: List of Chelsea Top Scorers of all time
3. Asier Del Horno
Del Horno seemed like a decent purchase when the club recruited him from Athletic Club for £8 million in 2005.
The left-back arrived, standing as a fierce, powerful defender. But at this club, he simply didn’t exhibit that and entered the Chelsea worst signings list.
Under Jose Mourinho, the Spanish defender only spent one season here before returning to Valencia. However, the English club could only recoup nearly half of their investment in him, or £4.8 million.
- Read more: Who is the highest-paid player in Chelsea?
2. Adrian Mutu
Mutu was among the worst Chelsea signings list, joining the club in 2003 for a whopping £15.8 million from Parma.
Mutu came shortly after the Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich took control. He arrived with a lot of pressure to succeed.
In his lone season with the team, Mutu made just 27 appearances and netted 10 goals. But worse, the club let him go after he failed a drug test in 2004. Thus, this Blue team filed legal charges against him for a contract breach. After ten years of litigation, Mutu was found responsible and compelled to pay back €17 million.
1. Alvaro Morata
Alvaro Morata became one of the Chelsea players from Real Madrid in 2017, it set a record transfer fee of £60 million. After his periods in Spain, the Blues believed they had found the next Karim Benzema or Robert Lewandowski. He boasted of having all the necessary qualities for a striker, including size, strength, agility, quickness, and terrific finishing touch.
Morata made his debut in September when he scored a hat-trick against Stoke City. The Spanish player lost his talent with just one injury. Finally, Morata was moved to Atletico Madrid, much to the relief of the Blues’ supporters.
Conclusion
That’s the conclusion of our in-depth blog piece on the Chelsea worst signings list.
The history of any football club is dotted with both successful and regrettable signings. In analyzing Chelsea’s worst signings, we gain valuable insights into the complexities of player transfers and the importance of thorough evaluation. It serves as a reminder that even the most promising signings can falter, highlighting the need for careful consideration and analysis.
As Chelsea moves forward, the lessons learned from these missteps will undoubtedly shape future transfer decisions. For more fascinating articles like this, check out our Chelsea FC Players News website!
