Chelsea most expensive signings ever

Chelsea are certainly going through a rough patch right now as the club’s owner Roman Abramovich is shunned away by heavy sanctions due to the recent tensions between Russia and the West. But that did not stop the Russia oligarch from spending hundreds of millions of Euros to bring in world-class players to Chelsea throughout the years.

That is why we got to see incredible footballers grace the pitch at Stamford Bridge since Chelsea’s acquisition in the early 2000s. But who are the most expensive signings in Chelsea’s history? How much did they cost the Blues throughout the years? Surely you too are eager to find out more about these costly arrivals as they have had quite great impacts on the Premier League side. So read on as we provide detailed information about the careers of these footballers and get to see how they have fared at the English club so far.

Most expensive transfers in Chelsea history

From former Real Madrid players such as Mateo Kovacic and Alvaro Morata, to great American talents such as Christian Pulisic, there are some big names on the list of most expensive Chelsea signings. So without further ado, here is everything you need to know about these footballers and their careers at the English club.

Mateo Kovacic

• Price: €45M

Not many footballers have the opportunity and the honor to player for several top clubs in Europe. That is why Mateo Kovacic is considered to be one of the lucky few as he has played for

,

and Chelsea throughout his career so far.

The Croatia international was and is heavily influenced by his idol Luka Modric as he tries his best to replicate his fellow countryman with every chance he gets. The incredibly versatile midfielder made a total of 97 appearances for the Nerazzurri before Real Madrid decided to splash €38 million to sign him in 2015. The Croatian managed to impress in Spain as well as he gained the respect of the fans at the Santiago Bernabeu, which is by far one of the most difficult things in football as Madridistas are perhaps the hardest to satisfy.

With more 100 appearances across all competitions for the Spanish giants over the course of three seasons, Kovacic was forced to move out on loan by joining Chelsea in 2018.

While some loan players tend to drop in form, the midfielder simply showed what he was made of as everyone got to see his pure talent and class in that single season, which later convinced the Blues to make his move permanent in the summer of 2019 as they paid a whopping €45 million to acquire his services. Since then, the former Inter midfielder has made more than 150 appearances for the Blues and has solidified the club’s midfield alongside N’Golo Kante.

Ben Chilwell

• Transfer fee: €50M

Ben Chilwell was one of the most promising left-backs in England when he arrived at Chelsea from Leicester City. Having risen up the ranks at Leicester City’s youth academy, Chilwell managed to prove that he was indeed a talented defender with a lot of potential with his incredible performances alongside the Foxes. He made more than 120 appearances for the former Premier League champions and even got to contribute to more than 15 goals in the process.

That alone was enough for Chelsea to pay an astounding €50 million to sign the Englishman in the summer of 2020. Even though Chilwell is versatile enough to play as a left-midfielder or a center-back, he is most comfortable playing as a left-back, which has in turn caused him a bit of a headache as Chelsea’s current manager Thomas Tuchel prefers to use a 3-5-2 formation instead of a conventional 4-3-3.

This change of tactics has forced the England international to be benched most of the times, which is clearly frustrating for one of England’s brighter talents. Chilwell was a vital part of the Chelsea squad that went on to win the Champions League against Manchester City, but his appearance ratio has dropped significantly compared to last season and things don’t seem to be going too well. Nevertheless, the 24-year-old is still one of the most talented left-backs at the time and has already won the Premier League, the Champions League and the UEFA Super Cup throughout his career.

Timo Werner

• Transfer fee: €53M

It is simply ironic how one player can both be one of the most lethal strikers in the world and one of the most hilarious memes in the world of football thanks to how many close-range attempts they have missed. It is quite unbelievable how missing open-goal attempts from close-range has turned into a trademark for Timo Werner, who was initially considered to be quite a lethal goal-scorer during his time at RB Leipzig.

The 25-year-old is one of the

Chelsea most expensive signings ever

thanks to the whopping €53 million that the club splashed to get his signature in 2020. Roman Abramovich’s 2020 summer overhaul has successfully paid off as Chelsea have since won the Champions League and are currently one of the main title contenders for the 2021-22 Premier League title. But perhaps Werner’s transfer fee is yet to bear fruit as the German striker has been going through a rough patch.

The Germany international was one of the most prolific goal-scorers during his time at

, for whom he made a total of 159 appearances and managed to score an incredible 95 goals and provide 40 assists in the process.

However, Werner has not been able to repeat the same run of form at Chelsea as he has only scored on 14 occasions since joining the Blue in 2020, despite the fact that he is the main center-forward and has made more than 60 appearances for Chelsea. Perhaps the former Leipzig man’s poor form in front of goal was enough reason to convince Abramovich to look for another striker as well.

Jorginho

• Transfer fee: €57M

Who would have thought that a defensive midfielder would go on to beat the likes of Lionel Messi, Kevin de Bruyne, Robert Lewandowski and many others to win the UEFA Men’s Player of the Year award in 2020? Jorginho was the man who managed to do exactly that after winning the award for his phenomenal performance in the Champions League, which actually helped Chelsea lift the trophy at the end of the season. The Italian midfielder gained recognition as a talented footballer when he joined

from Hellas Verona for almost €10 million in 2014.

It took him four years and a total of 160 appearances at Napoli to finally make his big-money move and join Chelsea for a whopping €57 million in 2018. With this transfer, the midfielder became one of

Chelsea most expensive signings ever

and has since been a vital part of the club. Few players have had quite a successful period since 2018 as the Italy international has since won the Euro 2020 along with the Champions League, the Europa League and the UEFA Super Cup.

He has made more than 150 appearances for the Blues and has managed to score an incredible 19 goals, which is a truly stunning record for a defensive midfielder. The former Napoli man is even on the shortlist of many football players and enthusiasts as they believe he deserves the Ballon d’Or. Jorginho has had an excellent run of form at Chelsea since joining the club in 2018, but perhaps it would take a lot more to win the Ballon d’Or as a midfielder, especially since Robert Lewandowski has been absolutely killing it with his phenomenal displays.

Fernando Torres

• Transfer fee: €58.5M

Fernando Torres could have been the most expensive arrival in Chelsea history if we were to consider the inflation and the highly-inflated market of these days. The Spanish center-forward cost Chelsea a whopping €58.5 million back in 2010, but even though Torres cost Abramovich one of the

Chelsea highest transfer fee paid ever

, he didn’t get to repeat the same feats he had achieved at Liverpool.

Torres was a truly phenomenal striker at Liverpool as the Spaniard was clearly in his prime during those days. Unfortunately for Chelsea fans, however, the former Spain international simply failed to deliver on his promises and obviously failed to live up to the billing.

Of course that doesn’t mean that the striker was absolutely terrible and that he was a flop. He just never had a chance against all the exaggerated expectations that the club’s supporters had of him during his time at Chelsea. The center-forward still managed to score 45 goals and provide 35 assists in 172 appearances for the London-based club, which in turn helped them win secure a win in the final of the 2011-12 Champions League and also earned them the FA Cup and the Europa League the next season.

These stats alone are enough to make any footballer a legend at any certain club, but the former Atletico Madrid center-forward was too lethal and famed for the fans to be satisfied with these performances. The now 37-year-old is currently working as the assistant manager of

’s U19 side and will always be remembered as one of the most prolific Spanish goal-scorers in the footballing halls of fame.

Christian Pulisic

• Transfer fee: €64M

The United States of America started investing in youth academies and football or as they call it, “soccer” stadiums in the early 2000s and this investment is slowly starting to pay off. Christian Pulisic is only one of the many young and aspiring American footballers who have managed to attract a lot of attention in recent years. Pulisic got his name on the list of

Chelsea most expensive signings ever

after impressing both football enthusiasts and the media with his phenomenal performances at

.

As a Dortmund youth academy graduate, the immensely versatile winger got to make more than 120 appearances for the Bundesliga side, during which he managed to score 19 goals and provide 26 assists. These stats were more than enough to convince the former Chelsea manager Frank Lampard to splash the cash and pay an eye-watering fee of €64 million to acquire his services in 2019.

Having become one of the Chelsea most expensive signings ever, Christian Pulisic soon found himself in a bit of a pickle as constant injuries and fitness issues have since forced his hand as he spends his time on the sidelines instead of playing on the pitch.

When he gets the chance to play for Chelsea, however, he does get to prove everyone his worth as he lives up to the billing every time he graces the pitch. The United States international has managed to score 18 goals and provide 14 assists in less than 80 games played for Chelsea, which shows how much potential the 23-year-old actually has.

Alvaro Morata

• Transfer fee: €66M

Alvaro Morata has moved around so much that it is truly difficult to keep track of his moves in the transfer market. The Spaniard has played for some of the biggest clubs in Europe, including Real Madrid, Atletico Madrid, Juventus and of course Chelsea. Way before becoming one of Chelsea most expensive signings ever, Morata was an exciting prospect at Real Madrid as he had graduated from the same club’s youth academy.

Even though the striker had hopes of being the main striker for Los Blancos, Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema’s strong presence never allowed him to have any chance of realizing his dreams. That is why he was then sold to Juventus for €20 million in 2014. Morata soon realized his full potential as he became a prolific goal-scorer at the Serie A side and managed to convince his former club to sign him back for €30 million after only two seasons.

Once again, Morata’s dreams were shattered as he never got to find his feet at the Santiago Bernabeu, despite still being a lethal striker in front of goal. Finally, Chelsea came calling for Morata as they agreed to pay a whopping €66 million to sign him in 2017, which immediately made him one of Chelsea most expensive signings ever and put a lot of responsibility on the new arrival’s shoulders.

The Spain international did get to score 24 goals in 72 appearances, but these stats were clearly not good enough for the Blues as he was sold to Atletico Madrid for €35 million after spending a season on loan at the Spanish club. He is currently spending his time out on loan at

after failing to earn Diego Simeone’s trust once again. Of course things seem to be going a little better for the Spaniard as he is currently an important part of the Serie A side.

Kepa Arrizabalaga

• Transfer fee: €80M

There is a reason why there is only one goalkeeper on the list of Chelsea highest transfer fee paid ever as goalkeepers usually don’t cost a club a whopping €80 million! That is, however, the exact amount of money that Chelsea paid to acquire Kepa Arrizabalaga’s services. All of this happened in a moment of panic as the Blues had just lost Thibaut Courtois, one of the best goalkeepers in the world, to Real Madrid.

Hasty decisions usually result in terrible consequences and terrible consequences did this transfer bring. The Spain international rose to prominence as an exciting prospect at

, for whom he made 54 appearances and kept a total of 15 clean sheets in the process. Somehow, Chelsea fell victim to all the hype the media had caused as they went on and spent a ridiculous amount of money to sign the goalkeeper in 2018.

However, it all blew up in their faces as Arrizabalaga did not manage to live up to the billing and failed to deliver on his promises. Everything also got even worse when he refused to be substituted prior to the penalty shootouts of a rather dull EFL Cup final against

, which resulted in the club paying dearly as they lost the final to Pep Guardiola’s side.

Kepa has since become Chelsea’s second-choice goalkeeper as Edouard Mendy carries the responsibility of being the first-choice keeper. Of course the former Athletic Bilbao man did make amends after being subbed-on to replace Mendy and win his club the UEFA Super Cup against Villarreal in the penalty shootouts.

Kai Havertz

• Transfer fee: €80M

Germany have always introduced some of the best midfielders in football to the world, with German young talents coming of age every year to join some of the best teams in Europe. One such young talent is Kai Havertz, who became one of Chelsea most expensive signings ever after his €80 million move away from Bayer Leverkusen to the Premier League side.

The incredibly versatile attacking midfielder is without a doubt one of the most exciting prospects in the world of football and has already managed to make his mark in history by scoring the winner in the 2020-21 Champions League final against Manchester City. The Germany international single-handedly won the club’s UCL title and is now one of the most sought-after youngsters in the world of football.

Havertz rose to prominence with his phenomenal performances at

, for whom he made a total of 150 appearances and managed to score 46 goals and provide 31 assists in the process, which is absolutely incredible for an up-and-coming young midfielder.

Having joined the Premier League side in 2020, Havertz has since managed to earn himself a spot amongst the regular starting-XI and has already played in more than 55 games for the Blues, scoring 11 goals and providing 10 assists. Even though his stats might not be as remarkable as his stats at Bayer Leverkusen, the 22-year-old is definitely one of the most promising youngsters out there and we are all eager to see how his career unfolds in the near future.

Romelu Lukaku

• Transfer fee: €115M

Romelu Lukaku’s journey so far has been one big footballing fairytale thanks to all the falls and rises in his career. The 28-year-old has been through a lot in a roller-coaster of a career, which has seen him switch clubs several times to finally be considered a world-class striker. Lukaku attracted the attention of top clubs in Europe shortly after graduating from RSC Anderlecht’s youth academy and joining their senior squad in 2009. The Belgian center-forward joined Chelsea for €15 million in 2011, but never got the chance to prove himself and realize his potential as a lethal striker.

That is why he went on to spend some time out on loan at clubs such as

and

, after which the Toffeemen decided to make his move permanent for €35 million in 2014. Lukaku went on to demonstrate how talented and prolific he could be as he managed to score an incredible 87 goals in a total of 166 appearances, while adding 29 assists in the process as well. These stats were more than enough to convince Manchester United to pay a whopping €84 million to acquire Lukaku’s services in 2017.

But the Belgium international did not get to reach the same heights with the Red Devils as he was quickly shunned away by the club, which resulted in him joining Inter for a massive fee of €74 million in 2019. Joining Inter was perhaps the best decision Lukaku could make as he helped Nerazzurri end Juventus’ reign over the Serie by winning the Scudetto last season.

Lukaku went on to score a phenomenal 64 goals and provide 16 assists in 95 appearances for Inter, which convinced Chelsea to pay an eye-watering fee of €115 million to sign the same player they deemed unfit to play all those years ago.

The former Inter striker might have had a great start in the beginning as everyone cheered for the Belgian center-forward’s phenomenal performance at Chelsea, but we got to see how Lukaku doubted his move to Chelsea in the middle of the season and caused so much controversy in the process. Lukaku has managed to score 11 goals while providing 2 assists in more than 30 appearances across all competitions this season.

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