5 top strikers who failed to deliver the goods in Chelsea colours
Chelsea are undoubtedly one of the biggest clubs in world football presently. Ever since the Premier League began in 1992 and following the subsequent takeover by Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich in 2004, the club's profile has been inching steadily upwards.
Since the Premier League era began in 1992, the Blues have signed more than their fair share of strikers. From Mark Hughes down to Alvaro Morata, a dizzying variety of frontmen with different attributes have arrived for some very high fees.
There have been huge successes, Didier Drogba was a snip for the £24 million the Blues paid for him in 2005, while Diego Costa was majestic for the side, bulldozing his way to two Premier League titles in 3 and a half seasons. Other successes include Hernan Crespo, Jimmy Floyd-Hasslebaink, Nicholas Anelka amongst others.
Then there have been the let-downs (quite a few actually!). Adrian Mutu's drug issues meant that the fans never got to see just how good he could have been while the jury is still out on Morata.
Here is a look at 5 quality strikers who were brilliant elsewhere but failed to deliver whilst at Chelsea:
#5 Carlton Cole (2001-2006)
One of the few English strikers to have worn the colours of Chelsea in the Premier League era, the Nigerian-born player never got going in the blue shirt.
Despite spending six seasons on the club's books following his promotion from the club's academy, Cole only played two full seasons at Stamford Bridge before being let go to join West Ham in the 2006-2007 season.
A lot was expected of Cole when he made his debut for the club during the 2000/01 Premier League season as an understudy to Hasslebaink and Gianfranco Zola. Then manager Claudio Ranieri had described Cole as one of the best young talents in the world, everyone thought he was going to become the new local lad who made it; in the mould of Dennis Wise and Graeme Le Saux.
However, his lack of technique, sense of positioning and inability to deliver the goods meant that he was always seen as an option off the bench. Of the 5 seasons he spent at the club, three were on loan to Wolverhampton Wanderers, Charlton Athletic, and Aston Villa.
He never fulfilled his potential and in 31 games for the club, he only got 8 goals.