#2 Graeme Le Saux
Before the likes of John Terry and Robert Huth English full-back Graeme Le Saux was the big thing coming out of Chelsea’s youth system. He was a multi-faceted player, to say the least. As much as his ability to bomb forward and deliver dangerous crosses, Le Saux was a rock-solid defender and prevented many goals in his time.
A player once destined for greatness found himself on the ropes with the team manager Ian Porterfield and was sold to Blackburn Rovers during his prime. In that period, he lifted the Premier League trophy with Blackburn and established himself as one of the country’s top defenders.
In 1997, Chelsea re-signed him for seven times the cost of his initial departure fee. Graeme went on to lift the League Cup, UEFA Cup Winner’s Cup and the FA Cup with the Blues in the coming years. Le Saux’s initial sale was a mistake that proved costly for the club but he was a success for both Blackburn and Chelsea.