Palmer brilliant, Lukaku bust: Rating the 20 most expensive players in Chelsea history
Chelsea have never been afraid to splash to cash to sign top talent over the years – but the club’s record with big-money signings has been patchy
By Jon Turner | April 10, 2024
Chelsea have never been a club afraid to splash the cash on players, especially in the last 20 years. The arrival of Roman Abramovich in 2003 changed the game, not only for our beloved Blues but across the Premier League and indeed around European football.
The Russian billionaire, determined to turn Chelsea into a global football superpower, dug into his own pockets to bankroll the club, spending hundreds of millions of pounds recruiting the best players to Stamford Bridge. It worked as Chelsea established itself as one of the biggest and most influential clubs in the world.
Even after Abramovich was forced to sell the club, new owners Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital have been similarly ambitious with their recruitment. It hasn’t yet led to trophy success, but no one can accuse them of being stingy.
Yet, while Chelsea have had enormous success in the transfer market during the Premier League era, the club’s track record with big-money signings is patchy to say the least.
Here are Chelsea’s 20 most expensive signings rated according to their success at the club set against their transfer fee.
Enzo Fernandez (£106.8m)
Chelsea broke their transfer record in January 2023 to sign one of the most highly-rated midfielders in world football and a star of the 2022 World Cup.
Fernandez had recently been named young player of the tournament for his vital role in Argentina’s triumph in Qatar and the excitement around his arrival at Stamford Bridge was palpable.
A classy midfielder with an elite array of passing, it’s fair to say Fernandez has not quite fulfilled his potential yet at Stamford Bridge – and he admitted as much in a recent interview with the club. There have been several performances that showed what he’s capable of, but we’re still waiting for a prolonged spell of consistency.
Still only 23, as he continues to settle at the club and develop his relationship with teammates, we can be confident it will come.
Verdict: Jury still out
Moises Caicedo (£100m)
Signed from Brighton in the summer of 2023 in a deal that could eventually be worth to £115m, Caicedo arrived to replace departed club legend N’Golo Kante as Chelsea’s midfield enforcer.
Instrumental in Brighton’s best-ever season in 2022/23, the Ecuadorian had already proved to be one of the best young midfielders in the Premier League.
Caicedo endured a difficult debut, coming off the bench to give away a penalty in a 3-1 defeat to West Ham, and it took several games for him to find his feet in this new-look side. The 22-year-old has shown glimpses of his quality during his debut season, although individual mistakes have undermined his overall progress.
Like Fernandez, Caicedo will need time to settle and given his undoubted potential and young age, there is plenty of hope that he will become a massive player for the Blues.
Verdict: Jury still out
Romelu Lukaku (£97.5m)
After failing to establish himself in the Chelsea first team as a youngster, Lukaku returned to the club in the summer of 2021 for a then club record fee following a prolific spell at Inter Milan.
He had already proved to be a goal-scoring guarantee in the Premier League during stints at West Brom, Everton, and Manchester United – and at 27, the Belgian was in the prime of his career.
Lukaku appeared to be the final missing piece of Thomas Tuchel’s jigsaw – a team that dominated in defence and midfield but struggled for a steady stream of goals. And that’s exactly how it looked in the early part of his debut season; he scored three goals in his first three Premier League games.
However, it was all downhill from there. Lukaku picked up an injury which killed his momentum, then found himself frozen out by Tuchel after an ill-advised interview, in which he criticised the manager’s tactics and expressed regret at leaving Inter.
After one season – where he scored only eight league goals and 15 in all competitions – Lukaku has since spent the past two years on loan.
Still contracted until 2026 but so many bridges have been burned that he’s unlikely to ever play for the Blues again. A massive disappointment.
Verdict: Failure
Wesley Fofana (£70m)
Became the club’s most expensive ever defender when he joined from Leicester City in August 2022, Fofana arrived with a massive reputation as perhaps the best young defender in the Premier League.
Unfortunately, the 23-year-old Frenchman’s first two seasons at Stamford Bridge have been blighted by serious injury; his debut campaign was all but scrapped by a major knee injury in October 2022, and after making his return last February, he was understandably well off the pace.
Misfortune struck again last pre-season when Fofana sustained an ACL injury and he’s yet to play this season. Limited to just 20 appearances, a fully fit and in-form Fofana would make a massive difference to this shaky Chelsea defence. Problem is, he already had a concerning injury history before he joined.
Verdict: Jury still out
Kai Havertz (£62m)
Signed in September 2020 from Bayer Leverkusen as Chelsea’s second-most expensive signing, Havertz carried with him a reputation as a generational talent – a player the club could build their next great team around.
Only 21 when he arrived, Havertz initially struggled under Frank Lampard, who admitted he wasn’t sure how to best deploy the versatile attacker within his system. Finished his debut season strong under Tuchel and scored one of the most important goals in Chelsea history when he struck the winner against Manchester City in the Champions League final.
Havertz became a victim of his own versatility and was routinely played as a centre-forward due to a lack of other options, despite his best position being No 10. Consequently, his goalscoring record was simply not good enough for a striker.
For a player of his undoubted talent, there is a lingering sense it was wasted at Stamford Bridge. He moved to Arsenal last summer and appears to be finding his role under Mikel Arteta. Chelsea need to shoulder much of the blame for Havertz not working out.
Verdict: Failure
Kepa Arrizabalaga (£71.6m)
Still the world’s most expensive goalkeeper, Kepa arrived from Athletic Bilbao in August 2018 when Chelsea were desperate for a new No 1 following Thibaut Courtois’ move to Real Madrid.
The Spaniard endured a shaky debut season, highlighted by the League Cup final when he defied Maurizio Sarri’s orders to be substituted off ahead of the penalty shootout. He continued to struggle in his second season, prompting Chelsea to sign Edouard Mendy, and Kepa was promptly demoted to the bench.
After two seasons as the No 2, Kepa earned back his place in the team following an alarming drop in form by Mendy, and while the 2022/23 campaign was his best in a Chelsea shirt, he failed to justify the massive outlay.
Signed on loan by Real Madrid for this season after Courtois’ long-term injury, but after starting the campaign with the gloves, has since been usurped by Andriy Lunin.
Verdict: Failure
Mykhaylo Mudryk (£62m)
Mudryk appeared destined for Arsenal in January 2023, so Chelsea fans took plenty of delight in seeing the talented Ukrainian instead make his way to Stamford Bridge from Shakhtar Donetsk.
Got the crowd off their feet with a livewire debut off the bench against Liverpool, although much of his early Chelsea career has flattered to deceive.
Mudryk has been handed limited starts so far as he continues to adjust to life in England and the Premier League, but there are clear signs he is trending in the right direction.
Still only 23, it’s important to note that Mudryk only made 44 senior club appearances prior to moving to Chelsea so he is inexperienced and deserves time to fulfil his monster potential.
Verdict: Jury still out
Alvaro Morata (£60m)
Signed from Real Madrid in July 2017 as the replacement for Diego Costa, these couldn’t have been more opposing centre-forward characters. While Costa was a big, nasty striker who revelled getting in the faces of his opponents, Morata was a quieter, nicer player – yet still a talented goalscorer.
The Spaniard started superbly, scoring six goals in his first six Premier League games, and had nine in his first 15 – a solid return to begin a debut season. But Morata is the ultimate confidence striker, and once he hit a rough patch, he struggled to hit the same heights, ending his first year with 15 goals in 48 games in all competitions.
Morata’s difficulties carried over into his second season and he was replaced in the starting line-up by Olivier Giroud. He again scored 15 goals in all competitions but just five in the Premier League. Spent the 2019/20 season on loan at Atletico Madrid before joining the club permananetly.
Verdict: Failure
Marc Cucurella (£55m)
Many Chelsea fans were left aghast in August 2022 when it was announced the club had signed Cucurella from Brighton for £55m in a deal that could rise to £62m.
The Spaniard had enjoyed an excellent season on the south coast and was voted Brighton’s Player of the Season – but £55m for a left-back well short of elite level?
Cucurella endured a horrid debut season at Stamford Bridge as Chelsea finished in their lowest league position – 12th – since 1995. He was far from the only problem, but still, his price tag looked incredibly inflated; he was too slow on the ball and got frequently dominated by top-level wingers.
Injury has disrupted his second campaign and while there has been significant improvement, it’s fair to say that Cucurella will struggle to ever justify the massive transfer fee.
Verdict: Failure
Christian Pulisic (£58m)
Signed in January 2019 but remained on loan at Borussia Dortmund for the rest of that season, Pulisic made his way to Chelsea with a reputation as one of the most exciting forward talents in European football.
Only 20 when he made his Chelsea debut, the American’s first season was encouraging with 11 goals and eight assists in 34 games across all competitions. His second year was disrupted by injury but Pulisic made a telling contribution towards the end of the campaign as Chelsea won the Champions League.
However, injuries were a constant theme in his third and final seasons for Chelsea as Pulisic struggled to find his best form. Sold to AC Milan last summer for a massive loss; another player who failed to fulfil his talent in blue.
Verdict: Failure
Romeo Lavia (£53m)
Southampton may have got relegated but Lavia emerged with his reputation burgeoned as one of the best young talents in the Premier League.
Enough so that Chelsea engaged in a bidding war with Liverpool to sign the Belgian midfielder, coming out victorious when Lavia penned a seven-year deal.
Unfortunately, Lavia has been limited to a single appearance after being hit by injury in his debut season. It was announced at the end of March that the 20-year-old will not feature for the rest of the season due to a thigh problem.
Lavia has the potential to be a huge player for Chelsea, so hopefully we see him hit the reset button next season.
Verdict: Jury still out
Christopher Nkunku (£52m)
Nkunku had long been expected to join Chelsea so when the deal was confirmed last summer, there was widespread excitement that the Blues had signed one of the best attacking players in Europe.
The French forward – a regular supplier of goals and assists for RB Leipzig – was expected to be a key part of Chelsea’s new-look forward line, but an injury in pre-season saw his competitive debut delayed until December.
Nkunku has shown obvious glimpses of his immense talent but injury has been a worrying constant; after 10 appearances and just three starts in all competitions, the 26-year-old is sidelined again with a hamstring issue.
What’s most concerning is Nkunku’s injury history; since the 2018/19 season, he has spent an accumulative six-and-a-half months out with a litany of injuries.
Verdict: Jury still out
Fernando Torres (£50m)
For those of us old enough, we all remember that January 2011 deadline day – Sky Sports cameras filming Torres touching down at Cobham on a helicopter to complete his British transfer record move from Liverpool. We couldn’t believe it; Fernando ‘f-ing’ Torres is joining Chelsea!
The Spaniard was the best striker in the Premier League and his arrival was expected to set up the next great Chelsea generation; the king Didier Drogba was coming towards the end of his Chelsea career and here was the striker who would seamlessly take over the throne.
Except, it didn’t really work out that way. Not at all. Torres scored one goal in 18 appearances during his first half-season and looked a shadow of the player who destroyed defences for Liverpool.
Confidence at an all-time low, his first full campaign in 2011/12 was similarly disappointing with a meagre 11 goals in 49 games – although he did come on as a sub to score that massive goal at Barcelona to send the Blues through to the Champions League final.
It was more of the same for his final two seasons at Stamford Bridge as Torres failed to hit double figures in the Premier League. Eventually left on a two-year loan deal to AC Milan before returning to boyhood club Atletico Madrid – but was never the same striker again.
His overall Chelsea stats weren’t totally disastrous – 79 goal involvements in 172 games, but only scoring 45 was a massive disappointment.
Verdict: Failure
Jorginho (£50m)
The Italian midfielder joined on the same day as his manager Maurizio Sarri in July 2018 from Napoli – an immediate declaration that so-called ‘Sarri-ball’ would be implemented, with Jorginho its conductor.
Jorginho had his detractors; he was often too lightweight in midfield, particularly in the physically demanding Premier League, and could be accused of slowing down play when the team needed to increase the tempo.
But the trophies speak for themselves. He won the Europa League in his debut season and was an important player to the 2021 Champions League triumph as well as the Club World Cup victory.
Jorginho moved to Arsenal in January 2023 for £12m as Chelsea tried to balance the books. He can be proud of his body of work at Stamford Bridge.
Verdict: Success
Raheem Sterling (£47.5m)
Arrived as the marquee summer signing of the Todd Boehly era in July 2022, Sterling had spent the previous seven years banging in goals and collecting trophies at Manchester City.
He was tasked with delivering the same while providing leadership to a young and inexperienced Chelsea side at the start of new and ambitious project.
Sterling’s debut season was underwhelming to say the least; he scored just 9 goals and provided 4 assists in 38 games across all competitions. He’s hardly caught fire in his second season, either; at the time of writing, he’s scored 8 goals and created 8 assists in 38 games.
Fans’ frustrations with Sterling finally boiled over during the FA Cup quarter-final against Leicester City when the winger had an absolute stinker. At 29, he should be in his prime, and while Chelsea have hardly been the picture of stability since his arrival, much more has been expected of Sterling.
Verdict: Failure
Timo Werner (£47.5m)
There are few players in recent years that Chelsea fans desperately wanted to succeed more than Werner. The rapid German forward arrived from RB Leipzig in June 2020 following a prolific season in the Bundesliga, but he was frustratingly wasteful for the Blues.
Werner had 23 goal involvements in his debut season and played his part in the Champions League victory – but a paltry six Premier League goals was well short of expectations.
Found game time more limited in his second season as Tuchel preferred Lukaku and then Havertz at centre-forward, but showed he could be an effective left winger with his lightning pace.
Returned to Leipzig for a cut-price £25.3m after just two years and with a deflating sense of what might have been.
Verdict: Failure
Ben Chilwell (£45m)
Chelsea were in desperate need of a top-level left-back in the summer of 2020, so it was a no-brainer to sign Chilwell, who had emerged as one of the best full-backs in the Premier League.
Chilwell was immediately installed as first-choice left-back under Lampard but had to work for his place when Tuchel arrived and moved to wing-backs, initially preferring Marcos Alonso. However, the England international was the main man during the business end of the season and was sensational during the Champions League knockout rounds.
Injury struck in the second season as Chilwell missed most of the campaign with a torn cruciate ligament, before hamstring problems limited his involvement last season. That same hamstring injury has caused problems again this campaign, and there is concern it has become a chronic issue.
Fingers crossed Chilwell is able to fully recover because he is a massive player when fit and on form.
Verdict: Success
Cole Palmer (£40m)
We have to go back nine years to Diego Costa since a Chelsea player has made such a massive and sustained impact in their debut season.
Signed on deadline day from Manchester City, Palmer was being talked about as a big talent, but few could have expected just how sensational he would be.
Amid another disappointing Premier League season as Chelsea struggle to even qualify for the Europa Conference League, Palmer has been the one constant shining light. At the time of writing, the brilliant winger has scored 19 goals and provided 13 assists in 37 games to become the main man at Chelsea.
His 16 league goals place him only behind Erling Haaland in the race for the Golden Boot while he is also second in the top assisters with 9.
It’s actually terrifying to think where Chelsea would be without Palmer this season and there is enormous hope that, as this young team progresses, the 21-year-old will be soon fighting for the titles he deserves.
Verdict: Success
Mateo Kovacic (£40m)
Initially signed on loan from Real Madrid in August 2018, Kovacic impressed enough to earn a permanent move 12 months later having helped Chelsea win the Europa League title.
The Croatian midfielder was a classy operator. Full of energy and drive in midfield, he had the ability to dominate games and became the heartbeat of the Chelsea team. He was an absolute powerhouse next to N’Golo Kante in the 2021 Champions League campaign.
Kovacic struggled to hit the same heights in his final season amid the collective chaos of the 2022/23 campaign, and he joined Manchester City last summer. Of all the players sold during the massive turnover of the past 18 months, a prime Kovacic is arguably missed the most.
Verdict: Success
Axel Disasi (£38.5m)
The imposing French centre-back joined Chelsea last summer from Monaco and has immediately made himself a starting defender in Mauricio Pochettino’s side.
It has been a mixed bag from Disasi in his debut campaign. There have been monumental displays, like his man of the match performance in the 1-1 draw with Man City; but there have been some shockers, too, as Chelsea struggle to keep out the goals.
Still very early in his Chelsea career but he has all the attributes to be a big player for us once he has fully adjusted.
