Since Roman Abramovich’s takeover back in 2003, Chelsea have established themselves as a powerhouse in England and Europe as well; with five PL titles and two UCL triumphs along with a lot of domestic cups.
His hire and fire policy has meant that not a single head coach has lasted longer than three seasons during his reign, and Roman’s desire to win fuels that philosophy, and it has worked.
Not only that, but Roman has pumped so much cash into Chelsea that success was inevitable. Signings such as Eden Hazard, Ashley Cole and Didier Drogba have all paid off, but there were ones that haven’t.
Tiemoue Bakayoko – from Monaco in £40 million deal.
Part of that famous AS Monaco roster that won the Ligue 1 title in the 2016/17 season, midfielder Tiemoue Bakayoko arrived at Stamford Bridge with high expectations.
The Frenchman started well, with a showing against Tottenham Hotspur particularly strong, but the player went off the boil, and a 30-minute red card in a shocking defeat to Watford saw his career at the club fall off a cliff.
He did make 24 top-flight starts in the2017/18 campaign but was clear that he did not fit Maurizio Sarri’s system, and Tiemoue was shoved to the side to accommodate the Italy international Jorginho.
He was then loaned out to the Serie A side AC Milan, back to Les Monegasques, and then to another Italian club Napoli as his Blues career all but ended.
Michy Batshuayi – brought in for £33 million from Marseille
Michy Batshuayi was considered as Chelsea’s next clinical No.9 after impressing for Marseille in Ligue 1, but the star turned out to be yet another failing attacker for Chelsea.
Just as with many of the Blues’ poor striker signings, Michy has failed to produce on the PL stage, and while he netted the title winning goal versus West Brom in 2016/17, he hasn’t hit those heights again.
He spent the 2020/21 term on loan at Chelsea’s league rivals Crystal Palace. With just eight top-flight goals for Chelsea, it has not been a happy time on the field at Chelsea for the Belgian striker.
Danny Drinkwater – £35 million from Leicester City
In one of the more strange moves from this list, midfielder Danny Drinkwater was purchased in 2017.
The Englishman played a vital role in the Foxes’ title win, but the Frenchman N’Golo Kante did most the defensive work, leaving Danny with not much else to do.
With just 23 appearances for the first team overall, and one in the Football League trophy this campaign, Danny never broke into the team, and he has not played a minute for the senior team since the 2018 Community Shield.
He has been on loan to both Aston Villa and Burnley since then, but could not amass over 500 minutes for both combined. The player then moved on loan to the Super Lig side Kasimpasa.
