Ranking the 10 most disappointing Chelsea signings of the last decade
It's fair to say that Chelsea have had a relatively hit-and-miss record in the transfer market in recent years.
There have been some extraordinarily successful purchases; the likes of Eden Hazard and Diego Costa come to mind. But there have also been some very questionable decisions made by the club in the transfer market, with huge sums of money spent on players who have provided little or no return. While some of these players were unable to justify their price tag, others barely featured on the pitch for the team.
So here we take a look at 10 such disappointing signings made by Chelsea in the past decade:
#10 Filipe Luis
The Brazilian defender moved from Atletico Madrid to Chelsea in the summer of 2014 for around £16 million.
Luis was a regular starter for Atletico, helping them win La Liga and reach the final of the Champions League in 2014. His form was noticed by many top European clubs and Chelsea quickly snapped him up.
But the left-back was unable to make a similar impact at Chelsea. He was able to muster just 15 Premier League appearances for the Blues in the 2014/15 season. His time in England then came to an abrupt end despite winning the league under Jose Mourinho.
He returned to Atletico Madrid the following season and was ever-present again for the La Liga giants before moving back to his native country with Flamengo in 2019.
#9 Davide Zappacosta
Signed in the summer of 2017, Davide Zappacosta was a £25 million right-back who failed to seal a starting place in the team in his first season. He was only able to show flashes of his brilliance before losing his place entirely in 2018-19.
He played just four games that season and joined Roma on loan next season, only to rupture his ACL after his first league appearance. He was able to play a part for Roma post-lockdown and was sent on loan again the following season to Genoa.
Zappacosta has returned to Chelsea this summer, but clearly has no future under Thomas Tuchel as the club look to sell the right-back.