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Since Roman Abramovich took over the club in 2004, Chelsea have been renowned for splashing the cash in the transfer window.
The Blues have made a plethora of mega signings over the years, and they rank among the richest clubs in the Premier League and across Europe.
Top ten transfers in Chelsea history:
Under the Russian billionaire's reign, Chelsea have broken their transfer record six times, as they often break the bank to acquire the brightest talents across Europe. Didier Drogba was Chelsea's first record signing under Abramovich after the Blues paid a hefty £24m to snap him up from Ligue 1 outfit Marseille.
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The next season, Michael Essien arrived from Lyon for £24.4m before Chelsea splashed the cash in 2006 to acquire Andriy Shevchenko from AC Milan for £30m.
The list goes on and on. While some of these mega deals have worked out for the club, others have turned out to be underwhelming.
On that note, let's take a look at the ten most expensive transfers in Chelsea's history.
#10 Andriy Shevchenko | £30m (2006)
Following a stellar seven-season stint with AC Milan, Roman Abramovich went all out for the Ukraine international in 2016, smashing the record fee Manchester United paid for Leeds United’s central defender Rio Ferdinand.
However, despite scoring 23 goals in 77 outings for Chelsea, Andriy Shevchenko failed to live up to the hype surrounding his move. While he often fell behind Didier Drogba in the pecking order, at 29, his experience did offer quality to the Chelsea attack.
Shevchenko eventually returned to AC Milan on loan after two years at Stamford Bridge before the move was made permanent a year later.
#9 Mateo Kovacic | £40m (2019)
In 2018, Chelsea snapped up Mateo Kovacic from La Liga heavyweights Real Madrid on a one-year loan deal. However, after being imposed a 12-month transfer ban, Chelsea opted to make Kovacic’s deal a permanent one.
The Croatian put pen to paper on a five-year deal with the Stamford Bridge outfit after a £40m clause in his loan contract was triggered by Chelsea.
Playing under Maurizio Sarri, Kovacic struggled to hit his stride in his first 12 months with the Premier League club, as he was heavily rotated with England international Ross Barkley.
However, with the appointment of Frank Lampard, Kovacic became a key man for the Blues, as he dazzled at the centre of the park.
Kovacic was named Chelsea’s player of the season last year, after a stellar campaign where he made 47 appearances across all competitions.
#8 Timo Werner | £47.6m (2020)
After dazzling in the Bundesliga with RB Leipzig, Timo Werner became the hottest striker on the market, with a plethora of clubs across Europe keen on his signature.
The German international hit 28 goals in 34 appearances in the Bundesliga, including creating eight assists for his teammates, in his last season at Leipzig.
Interest from the Premier League was particularly high, with Liverpool heavily touted to snap up the hit-man. However, the Reds stalled in making an offer for the German international due to the financial implications brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Chelsea, who were going through a squad overhaul following their transfer ban, acted swiftly and triggered his £47.6m release clause as Frank Lampard signed the German to spearhead his attack.
While Timo Werner has struggled to find his scoring boots with Chelsea, he has occasionally shown flashes of brilliance and the quality he possesses in attack.
His electrifying pace makes him a constant threat to opposition defences, as he often drifts wide to the left and finds pockets of space to exploit or lead counters by simply running at the defence.
#7 Ben Chilwell | £50m (2020)
Following a poor defensive outing in the 2019-20 campaign, where they shipped a whopping 54 goals in the Premier League, Chelsea opted to bolster their squad in all departments.
The left-back duo of Marcos Alonso and Emerson Palmeri had grossly underperformed, prompting Frank Lampard to dive into the market for a new defender.
While the Blues were linked with a plethora of full-backs, they completed a move for England international Ben Chilwell from Leicester City for £50m.
Chilwell instantly became a key man for Chelsea, and he enjoyed a stellar start to life at the club, bagging two goals in his first five league games.
However, following the dismissal of Frank Lampard and the appointment of former PSG boss Thomas Tuchel, Chilwell has struggled to pin down a regular role with the Blues.
#6 Fernando Torres | £50m (2011)
Fernando Torres might go down as one of the worst big-money signings in Chelsea history.
However, the sight of the Spaniard running at a hapless Victor Valdes between the sticks for Barcelona to score the goal that sealed Chelsea’s place in the final of the UEFA Champions League in 2012 will forever be remembered by the Blues supporters.
Following his move from Atletico Madrid to Liverpool, where Torres scored a mind-boggling 81 goals in 142 games, Chelsea broke their transfer record to complete a shocking deadline-day move for the Spaniard.
Torres, who was arguably the best striker in the league prior to the move, struggled to find form in front of goal, though.
His time with Chelsea was riddled with several missed sitters, including a shocking miss against Manchester United.
The Spaniard would score just 20 goals in 110 Premier League games for the Blues, and in 2016, he parted ways with Chelsea after loan spells with AC Milan and Atletico Madrid.
Three years later, he hung up his boots following a short spell in the Chinese Super League.
#5 Jorginho | £50m (2018)
In 2018, Chelsea beat Premier League rivals Manchester City to the signing of Napoli’s midfield regista Jorginho for a reported £50m fee.
The father-son relationship between then-Chelsea coach Maurizio Sarri and the midfielder might have played a huge role in securing the deal after they enjoyed a cordial relationship during Sarri’s one-year spell in charge of Napoli.
With Sarri bringing his eye-catching possession-based style of play to Stamford Bridge, he opted to sign Jorginho, who was at the heart of his tactics back in Napoli.
However, after Sarri moved back to Italy to take charge of Juventus, Jorginho struggled for minutes under the newly-appointed Frank Lampard, who preferred a midfield pivot of tireless midfielder N’Golo Kante and Mateo Kovacic.
This season, Jorginho has been a star performer at the centre of the park for Chelsea, though. He currently leads the Blues' scoring charts in the Premier League with six goals, albeit all from the penalty spot.
Playing alongside Kovacic, he has formed a lethal partnership in midfield and is proving to be a key player for Chelsea in the Thomas Tuchel era.
#4 Christian Pulisic | £58m (2019)
Chelsea snapped up Christian Pulisic from Borussia Dortmund for £58m in the 2019 winter window and immediately loaned him back to complete the season with the Black and Yellows.
Although the fee initially raised a few eyebrows, considering Pulisic's age and lack of experience, he was viewed as a potential replacement for Eden Hazard, who was certain to quit the club at the end of the season.
However, Pulisic has shown signs he can be a world-beater, after a series of stellar performances for the Blues.
While he has struggled with several injuries since joining Chelsea, when fit he has shown that he can fill the large boots of Eden Hazard and single-handedly turn a game on its head for Chelsea.
Pulisic inspired Chelsea to Champions League qualification last season, scoring five goals after the restart of the Premier League.
Following the departure of Brazilian star Willian, Pulisic picked up the number 10 shirt, donning the famous number of former Chelsea star Eden Hazard.
#3 Alvaro Morata - £60m (2017)
After Alvaro Morata struggled to pin a regular role for Real Madrid, he moved on loan to Juventus, where he burst into the scene.
He returned to Madrid and continued to rise through the ranks with stellar performances. However, he was often the second choice to France international Karim Benzema.
With Antonio Conte at the helm, Chelsea direly needed a striker following the exit of Spanish forward Diego Costa.
The Blues were linked with a sensational move for Everton’s Romelu Lukaku. But with the Belgian moving to Manchester United for £75m, Chelsea snapped up Morata from Juventus for £60m.
The 28-year-old hit the ground running with Chelsea, scoring seven goals in his opening eight games. The Spaniard scored about half of his total Chelsea goals in his first four months, but he simply faded as the season wore on.
Morata, like Fernando Torres, struggled at the attacking end of the pitch and never really looked lethal enough to lead a club of Chelsea’s stature. He moved to Atletico Madrid in January 2019 after just 16 goals in 47 league games for the Blues.
#2 Kepa Arrizabalaga | £71.6m (2018)
Following the departure of Thibaut Courtois to Real Madrid, Chelsea completed a world-record signing for a goalkeeper when they snapped up Kepa Arrizabalaga from Atletico Bilbao for a whopping £71.6m.
However, he has since gone down as one of the biggest transfer flops in football history after enduring a horrendous spell with the Stamford Bridge outfit.
Kepa managed just eight clean sheets in 33 league outings last season as Chelsea conceded 54 in the Premier League.
His time at Chelsea has been plagued with errors leading to goals before he was dropped for 39-year-old veteran Willy Caballero.
Last summer, Chelsea moved to sign Stade Rennes shot-stopper Edouard Mendy as they looked to fix their defensive frailties.
#1 Kai Havertz | £72m (2020)
Kai Havertz became arguably the finest youngster in world football during his time with Bayer Leverkusen.
The 21-year-old scored 29 goals and provided nine assists in his final two seasons in the Bundesliga as his impressive performances caught the eye of Europe’s leading clubs.
Real Madrid and Bayern Munich were heavily linked with a move for the German sensation last summer. But Havertz moved to Chelsea for £72m, opting to join Frank Lampard’s rebuild project at Stamford Bridge.
So fa,r his start to life at Chelsea has been filled with ups and downs. But Havertz has shown he has the qualities to become a leading player at both club level and internationally.
While the German has struggled to perform under Frank Lampard, who often played him out of position, he has found a new lease of life under Thomas Tuchel.
