From Falcao to Morata, Chelsea’s record of costly duds continues with Higuain’s flop under Sarri
THEY are the costly stars of Stamford Bridge who blue it. From Andriy Shevchenko to Gonzalo Higuain, Roman’s Rubles have been splurged by Chelsea’s many managers but they’ve often ended up with a dud. These strikers were brought in for goals, their hefty price tag and weekly wages supposedly guaranteeing that. But Higuain appears to […]
THEY are the costly stars of Stamford Bridge who blue it.
From Andriy Shevchenko to Gonzalo Higuain, Roman’s Rubles have been splurged by Chelsea’s many managers but they’ve often ended up with a dud.
These strikers were brought in for goals, their hefty price tag and weekly wages supposedly guaranteeing that.
But Higuain appears to be the latest to fall well short of expectation in West London after signing a loan deal from Napoli in January.
And, here, SunSport runs through the list of Chelsea flops over the Abramovich era:
Andriy Shevchenko
He was the one Roman Abramovich wanted.
A club record fee of £30m for Shevchecko in 2006 saw Chelsea show their serious financial muscle by signing a European Footballer of the Year.
The Ukrainian striker came with a record of more than a goal every other game at AC Milan, where he had lifted the Champions League.
But he scored an average of three league goals a year at Chelsea and struggled with the pace of the Premier League.
His flop started an unwanted trend on the Kings Road.
Fernando Torres
There was no doubt Fernando Torres was worth £50m – but that was two years before Chelsea paid it.
El Nino left Stamford Bridge with a Champions League, FA Cup and Europa League medal but the lasting image of Torres is a pained one.
His electric pace and acceleration that saw him become the best striker in the league at Liverpool was all but gone at Chelsea.
Memories of that crucial goal against Barcelona that led Roberto Di Matteo’s team to the holy grail of European football was appreciated.
But when they offloaded Torres to Atletico Madrid in 2014 it felt like a relief to all involved.
Radamel Falcao
There was already a warning on this one.
Colombian Falcao had proved to be one of the most lethal marksmen in football at Atletico Madrid and then Monaco.
Chelsea had been witnesses to that after he hit a hat-trick against a Jose Mourinho side in the UEFA Super Cup final in 2012.
But despite his clear struggle to play at the pace of the Premier League while on loan at Man United in 2014, Chelsea took a punt.
He scored one goal – in a defeat to Crystal Palace – in 12 games for the London club. For some reason his loan deal was not extended.
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Alvaro Morata
He began like a bull in a China shop and ended like a lamb at the slaughter.
Alvaro Morata, the talented youngster of Real Madrid and Juventus, failed to step up to the plate when tasked with being Blues’ main man.
Morata hit the grounds running with six goals in his first six Premier League games, and his £60million price tag looked warranted.
But then, for no apparent reason, Morata’s form fell off a cliff.
Then boss Antonio Conte was unforgiving as the Spaniard missed chance after chance, and the coach decided a change was needed as he brought in Olivier Giroud.
Gonzalo Higuain
Higuain was meant to be the missing cog in Sarri’s machine.
The Italian boss had known him from Napoli where the Argentine had been unstoppable with his prolific ability.
Higuain scored 43 goals in their final season together in Naples.
But that man is not the one who has turned up at Stamford Bridge this year.
Higuain, 31, has scored just three goals since arriving in January and those have come against Fulham and Huddersfield, both already relegated from the Premier League.
Blues have an option to make his loan deal permanent but that looks far from likely.
Barring some shock change, Higauin will got down in history as a footnote of flops at Chelsea.