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Since Roman Abramovich took over Chelsea in 2003, the Blues have been a dominant force in English football thanks to their lavish spending. The reigning European champions have never shied away from the transfer market and have brought world-class players to the club. As such, they have always possessed one of the highest wage bills in the Premier League and Europe.
This season has been no different. The Blues possess the second-highest wage bill in the Premier League amounting to £152.332 million. New signings Romelu Lukaku is the club's highest paid player with a weekly salary of £325,000 while eight other players earn more than £150,000-per-week at the club.
Few Chelsea players have not justified their wages
There are a few players in the Chelsea squad who are on high wages but have not been able to justify them just yet. These players have huge paychecks but have not yet proven their worth considering the amount they are taking home.
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Here's a look at the five players that we feel are overpaid in the Chelsea squad right now.
Note: All wages are as listed on Spotrac.com
#5 Callum Hudson-Odoi - £120,000
Callum Hudson-Odoi was the first among the current crop of academy players to make his senior debut for Chelsea. He played in the Premier League for the first time under Antonio Conte in the 2017-18 season.
But his real breakthrough came in the 2018-19 season under Maurizio Sarri when he played 24 games for the club across all competitions. He was really impressive in Chelsea's Europa League-winning campaign that season, scoring four goals and assisting a further two in nine games for the Blues. However, the youngster could not play in the final due to an Achilles injury.
Nevertheless, Hudson-Odoi's performances attracted a lot of interest from Bayern Munich, with the Bavarians even ready to pay upto €60 million for the youngster. But Chelsea were keen to keep the youngster and offered him a bumper contract with a salary of £120,000-per-week to fend off any interest.
Sadly for the Blues, Hudson-Odoi has not been the same since returning from his Achilles injury. He has been in and out of the team under both Frank Lampard and Thomas Tuchel, being unable to cement his place in the starting XI. The 20-year-old was even looking to leave on loan this season but Tuchel blocked his move so as not to weaken the Chelsea squad.
After seeing Hudson-Odoi's performances in the last two seasons, it's fair to say that he has not been able to justify his huge wages at Stamford Bridge.
#4 Malang Sarr - £120,000
Chelsea bought Malang Sarr on a free transfer in the summer of 2020. It looked like an incredible bargain then, with Sarr only 21 and having already made more than 100 appearances for French side OGC Nice. The centre-back was widely considered one of the best young players and Chelsea did well to snap him up.
With Chelsea already having four centre-backs, the club decided to loan the youngster to FC Porto. He was sent to the Portuguese side with the idea that he can continue his growth there. But that was not the case.
Sarr failed to break into Porto's first team, and only managed to make 19 appearances in all competitions throughout the season. He could only muster five starts during the entire league campaign for Porto.
The Frenchman returned to Chelsea in June and was expected to go out on loan again. But the club failed to secure a loan move for him and he now looks to be stuck at Chelsea's Cobham training center.
As such, a salary of £120,000-per-week is definitely huge for a player who is yet to make a single competitive appearance for Chelsea. Notably, Sarr has not been included in Chelsea's Premier League squad either.
#3 Kepa Arrizabalaga - £155,000
After the departure of Thibaut Courtois to Real Madrid, Chelsea bought Kepa Arrizabalaga for £72 million, making him the world's most expensive goalkeeper in 2018.
The Spaniard had a decent first season, keeping 14 clean sheets in 36 Premier League games. He also played a key part in Chelsea's Europa League winning campaign. But things have gone downhill for the 26-year-old since then.
He made several individual errors during the 2019-20 campaign and managed to keep just eight clean sheets in 33 Premier League games for the Blues. His frailty in front of goal even led to him being replaced by Willy Caballero towards the end of that season.
With Kepa failing to perform, Chelsea bought Edouard Mendy from Rennes last summer and the Senegalese has been first-choice for the Blues since then. He kept 16 clean sheets in 31 Premier League games and also came big for the Blues in their Champions League-winning campaign last season.
Kepa has now accepted his role as second-choice keeper at the Premier League club. The Spaniard has done well in the few games he has played under Tuchel, even helping the Blues lift the UEFA Super Cup via the penalty shootout. But being the fifth-highest paid player at the club and not being first-choice definitely makes Kepa one of the overpaid players at the club.
#2 Ben Chilwell - £190,000
After Marcos Alonso and Emerson Palmieri failed to convince Frank Lampard in the left-back position, the then Chelsea manager decided to bring in Ben Chilwell from Leicester City.
The England international immediately hit the ground running, scoring and assisting on his Premier League debut and was a regular starter under Lampard. The likes of Emerson barely featured for Chelsea at the time while Alonso was completely frozen out by Frank Lampard.
But the arrival of Thomas Tuchel in January saw Alonso return to the fold as Tuchel reverted to a 3-5-2 formation with the Spaniard starting at wing-back. Alonso was preferred in the first few games under Tuchel but Chilwell eventually did manage to earn his starting position back at the business end of the season.
However, Alonso seems to have regained Tuchel's trust with the Spaniard starting all three Premier League games for Chelsea this season. Chilwell, on the other hand, is yet to play a single minute of the 2021-22 season.
It might be harsh to criticize Chilwell after he played a key part in Chelsea's top-four finish and Champions League win last season. But a player of his caliber with such high wages will definitely be expected to provide a more formidable challenge to Alonso for the left-wing back spot.
#1 Timo Werner - £272,000
Timo Werner, the third-highest paid player at Chelsea, has had a mixed start to his Stamford Bridge career so far. When the German international arrived from RB Leipzig last summer, many expected him to be one of the top scorers in the Premier League during the 2020-21 season.
But Werner struggled in front of goal throughout the season, missing several gilt-edged chances and managing to score just 12 goals in all competitions for the Blues. His pace was utilized effectively by both Frank Lampard and Thomas Tuchel but his finishing left a lot to be desired.
Due to Werner's poor form in front of goal, Chelsea bought in Romelu Lukaku from Inter Milan in a club-record deal. The Belgian immediately hit the ground running and replaced Werner in Chelsea's front three. He put in impressive displays against both Arsenal and Liverpool in his opening two Premier League games.
Chelsea will be hoping that Lukaku's arrival will take the pressure off Werner and help him get back to his best. The German has certainly failed to justify his wages so far at the club.
