For years, whoever has worn the number nine shirt at Chelsea, no matter how successful they have been at their previous clubs, has typically failed, with only a handful avoiding falling victim, and current number nine Joao Pedro might be the one, for now, to stop the rot.
Five goals and three assists across Joao Pedro's first five Premier League appearances this season, and he didn't waste any time getting on the scoresheet against Fulham, scoring just 31 seconds into his debut in the famous number at Craven Cottage.
Chelsea will hope that the Brazilian will keep up this rich vein of form, especially after just signing a new deal, which will keep him at the club until 2034. Still, Pedro isn't the only one who's got off to a fast start in this shirt, but like many who have gone before him, they have slowly faded away.
Pre-Pedro number 9's
When Mark Stein and Gianluca Vialli had successful stints wearing this number, not many thought that shirt would produce a curse, but after these two gave the number up that was when it started to go downhill.
Chris Sutton would only score one league goal all season after his £10 million move from Blackburn Rovers in 1999/00. Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink scored on his debut on his way to bagging 55 goals across his first two seasons, but his form would fall away before he was sold in 2004. Probably one of the best pre-Abramovic era.
When people usually think of the number nine, they typically associate it with strikers, but that hasn't always been the case with Chelsea. Non-strikers like Steve Sidwell and Khalid Boulahrouz were unsurprisingly unsuccessful not only in front of goal but also in their overall performance at Chelsea.
Strikers who didn't wear number 9
Diego Costa and Didier Drogba were a couple of successful strikers who didn't wear the number nine shirt, with Costa wearing number 19 and Drogba wearing 11, both of whom are arguably some of Chelsea's most successful strikers with an impressive scoring record.
Costa joined the Blues in 2014 after leaving Atletico Madrid and won two Premier League titles as well as a League Cup, scoring 52 Premier League goals in 89 Premier League appearances.
Drogba doesn't need much introduction, one of Chelsea's most clutch strikers, but although the Ivorian only had two seasons with over 20 goals, the consistency was what was so good for Chelsea, never going below 10 goals in a season throughout his first stint at the club.
Failed high profile number 9's
Chelsea has always been used to attracting worldwide European attacking talent, but not always at the peak of their careers. Romelu Lukaku, Alvaro Morata, Gonzalo Higuain, Radamel Falcao and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang all spent time at Stamford Bridge.
Some of them had good moments at the club, with Lukaku and Morata both starting their Chelsea careers off well, with the Spaniard scoring six goals in his first six Premier League games, but only five in his next 25 appearances.
Whereas Lukaku was never given a chance in his opening stint at Chelsea, not scoring in his first 15 matches, he was bought back from Inter Milan in 2021, and many thought he'd be one to stay, but an interview in December brought controversy, where the Belgian would be dropped, but it was ultimately an unsuccessful return to Stamford Bridge.
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