Even before the new ownership of Todd Boehly came in, Chelsea FC’s transfer window were more or less wasteful and ineffective as the club failed to win the Premier League since the 2016-17 season under the Italian manager Antonio Conte. Names like Romelu Lukaku, Tiemoue Bakayoko, Alvaro Morata and many more are enough to embarrass the Blues fans into thinking how could it go so wrong. But after the sale of the club to an American consortium, many rival club fans thought that this was the end of Chelsea football club as a high spending entity.
The rival fans couldn’t have been more wrong and in the initial nine months of the new ownership, Chelsea FC has spent a whooping £400 million and more are yet to come. With many of those initial signs now seeming questionable, let’s remember the times when transfer paid off brilliantly for Chelsea.
1. Frank Lampard (West Ham to Chelsea for £11m):
Arguably, Chelsea’s best signing to ever take place, Frank Lampard is by far the best Chelsea player to ever play for the club and also managed the club in a very turbulent time when the club were serving a transfer ban along with the recent departure of Eden Hazard to Real Madrid. We all remember that Harry Redknapp interview where he backed Lampard saying, “he will go right to the very top” and Super Frank more than proved himself on the biggest stage.
Despite being a midfielder, Lampard became Chelsea’s highest goalscorer with 211 goals and is fourth on the all-time list for appearances with 648. In terms of Premier League appearances, he is third on the list with 609 and is fourth for both goals (177) and assists (102). With Chelsea, Lampard won a total of 13 silverware which includes 3 Premier Leagues, 4 FA Cups, 2 League Cups and 1 Champions League and Europa League.
2. Eden Hazard (Lille to Chelsea for £32m):
Fresh of the back of their first Champions League title, Chelsea signed Eden Hazard and the Belgium wizard hit the ground running instantly. With every performance, Hazard amazed people with his performances day in and day out and became a fan favourite. In over 350 appearances for the club, Hazard contributed to more than 200 goals in all competitions with his best season being his last at the club before departing for Real Madrid, where he scored 16 goals and assisted 15 in 32 Premier League starts. In terms of accolades, Hazard won 6 trophies with Chelsea which included 2 Premier League and Europa League titles, along with 1 FA Cup and League Cup. But since moving to Spain, the Belgian has struggled with injuries so much so that his move can be classified as a flop.
3. Petr Cech (Stade Rennais to Chelsea for £7m):
During the arrival of Petr Cech at Chelsea, Carlo Cudicini was the number one at the club but after an injury to the Italian, Cech made that keeper spot his own for a number of years to come. In his first season, the Czech won the Premier League title and won the Golden Glove award having kept 21 clean sheets in the campaign, and conceded a mere 15 goals. That season onwards, Chelsea completely changed the English football and become the new powerhouse of the country breaking the grip of Sir Alex Ferguson’s Manchester United on the league. Cech went on to become the most successful goalkeeper not only for Chelsea but also for the Premier League, keeping 207 clean sheets in 443 appearances. With Chelsea, he went on to win 14 trophies which includes 4 EPL and FA Cup titles, 3 League Cups and 1 Champions League and Europa League title.
4. N’Golo Kante (Leicester City to Chelsea for £32m):
N’Golo Kante is one of the very few players in the history of the game to have won everything there is to win. Kante is widely recognised as one of the best midfielders in the world, with his all-action style of play praised by many. His unlimited stamina made him an important asset for any team he played for be it France, Chelsea or Leicester City. After winning the Premier League title with Leicester, Kante helped CFC win the title next year, becoming the first player since Eric Cantona to win back-to-back English top flight titles with two different clubs.
The diminutive ball-winner helped France win the 2018 World Cup, and was crucial in Chelsea’s 2021 Champions League triumph, winning the man of the match award in the final and both legs of the semi-final. But since a couple of years, the relentless running seems to have caught up with the French midfielder as he has been injured regularly and has not played since the start of this campaign.
5. Didier Drogba (Marseille to Chelsea for £24m):
As the new era of Roman Abramovich had just started, the new manager of Chelsea Jose Mourinho was determined to sign the Ivorian striker from Porto and his wish was granted in his first summer as Chelsea boss. At the time it that decision was questioned but after 381 appearances, 164 goals and 86 assists later nobody is questioning it now. Didier Drogba was more than just a number 9 for the club as he accumulated over 12 Premier League assists in a single campaign on three separate occasions.
By reference, Lampard only managed the previously mentioned feat twice. With 10 goals in 10 finals, Drogba was the ultimate big game player and his heroics in the 2012 Champions League culmination cemented his status as one of Chelsea’s greatest ever players. The Ivorian went on to win a whooping 16 trophies with CFC which included 4 Premier Leagues and FA Cups, three League Cups and one Champions League title.
6. Cesar Azpilicueta (Marseille to Chelsea for £7m):
Called “Dave” by Chelsea fans, Cesar Azpilicueta has probably been one of the most versatile players to every play for the club. The Spanish defender has played all the positions a defender can play in. Having played under nine permanent managers during his time at Stamford Bridge, Azpilicueta was successful every time in cementing his place in the starting eleven showcasing his brilliant playing ability and his knack of adapting to different playing philosophies.
‘Azpi’ is currently seventh on the club’s all-time appearance list and he is quickly closing in on Cech to become the foreign player to have been fielded by the Stamford Bridge side the most. In his 11th year as a Blue, Azpilicueta has won everything there is to win in club football with 2 Premier League and Europa League titles along with a trophy of Champions League, Club World Cup, UEFA Super Cup, League Cup and FA Cup each.
7. Ricardo Carvalho (Porto to Chelsea for £20m):
Probably one of the most underrated player to every play for the club, Ricardo Carvalho was Mourinho’s primary target once he joined the Blues and it’s clear to see why he wanted to. Along with John Terry, Carvalho formed one of the most formidable defences of the 2000s, helping the club win back-to-back Premier League titles whilst conceding just 37 goals across those two campaigns. Compared to other Chelsea legends, Carvalho had a relatively shorter stint at Stamford Bridge but in his 6 years at the club the Portuguese defender made over 200 appearances and won 3 Premier League and FA Cup titles along with a couple of League Cup trophies.
8. Ashley Cole (Arsenal to Chelsea for £5m + William Galas):
Ashley Cole’s transfer to the West London side was a saga in the truest sense and the angry Arsenal fans after the transfer dubbed Cole as ‘Cashley’. But this transfer went on to make Cole a CFC legend, winning a total of nine trophies at the club, including four FA Cup’s that made him the most decorated player in the competition’s history. For the five years between 2005 and 2010, Ashley Cole was the best left back in the world and a stalwart at the back.
The ex-Gunner was vital in the 2009/10 double-winning side and his role in the 2012 Champions League win was immense, making crucial goal-line clearances in both the semi-final and the final, as well as scoring his penalty in the shootout. The English defender went on to make 337 appearances for the club and towards the end of his career was replaced by Cesar Azpilicueta by the returning Mourinho during the 2013/14 season.
9. Cesc Fabregas (Barcelona to Chelsea for £30m):
Cesc Fabregas has been one of the most gifted and silkiest midfielders to every play the game, Fabregas came to his rival London club Chelsea from Barcelona in 2014 for just £30 million and went on top make 198 appearances, contributing to 80 goals from the midfield. The Spaniards influence in the four and a half seasons at the club was so crucial in winning 5 titles which included two Premier League titles and one Europa League, FA Cup and League Cup winners medal. After his departure to AS Monaco, Chelsea are still struggling to find a good creative midfielder who can contribute in both scoring and assisting goals signifying what a big void the Spaniard left to fill for the club.
10. Branaslav Ivanovic (Locomotive Moscow to Chelsea £9.7m):
Branaslav Ivanovic joined Chelsea from Locomotive Moscow in January 2008 but failed to adapt to the Premier League for the next two seasons and couldn’t cement a place in the starting lineup. But in came Carlo Ancelotti which helped the Serbian to find his feet. Ivanovic went on to be one of the best defenders in the league in 2009/10 season and helped the Blues win the double. Despite missing the 2012 UCL Final through suspension, Ivanovic always had a knack of scoring important goals like the winning goal in extra-time against Napoli in the last 16 and the winner in the 2012/13 Europa League final. Throughout his 9 years at Chelsea, the Serbian international went on to win 9 trophies which includes 3 Premier League and FA Cup titles and one each of Champions League, Europa League and League Cup.