It seems a lifetime ago already, but in the not so distant past Chelsea were very much the poor neighbours to their aristocratic London neighbours Arsenal and Tottenham. Of course, the arrival of Roman Abramovich and his seemingly boundless wealth has catapulted Chelsea into the global elite of the footballing world. However, as any loyal football fan will tell you: there is no such thing as a sure bet. With that in mind, let’s take a look at some of the biggest flops that Chelsea have signed in recent years.

Fernando Torres: the Spanish striker with striking dyed-blonde hair became the most expensive player to move between two British clubs in 2011. Having torn up the league with his scintillating goal-scoring form for Liverpool, much was expected of Torres when he rocked up to Chelsea for £50m. In fact, in his first game for the club, most sports betting sites were offering 6/4 odds that he’d hit the mark with his first goal. However, sporadic bursts aside, Fernando seemed unable to deal with the pressures of that price-tag and was a major disappointment, eventually leaving for Milan on a free transfer in 2015.

Chris Sutton: Sutton and iconic Geordie Alan Shearer formed the lethal SAS strike-force when Blackburn won the Premier League title. However, while Shearer went on to find success elsewhere, Suttons 1999 move to Chelsea for £10M was something of a flop. Scoring only three goals for the club, Chris was soon replaced and shipped off to Celtic, where he was able to find the net on a far more regular basis.

Andriy Shevchenko: the signing of the totemic Ukrainian striker sent out a signal to the world that Chelsea was now a soccer superpower. Shevchenko cost £30M from Milan in 2006, in a move seen as largely driven by new owner Abramovich. The aging forward was clearly past is best, however, and did little to justify his enormous £121,000 a week salary. Eventually he returned to Dynamo Kiev on a free after two largely fruitless seasons in the Premier League.

Juan Sebastian Veron: much was expected of the Argentine maestro when he moved from Lazio to Manchester United for a hefty £28 million, but he was unable to adapt to the requirements of his new club. Chelsea gave the midfield playmaker a second chance to make an impression in the Premier League but he had even less success for the London club, making a mere five league appearances in four years there.

Winston Bogarde: how can a free transfer make a list of the worst Chelsea transfers in recent memory? It may sound counter-intuitive, but Winston Bogarde cannot be omitted from a list like this. Arriving on a free from Barcelona in 2000, Bogarde seemed more than content to cash his (then hugely expensive) £40,000-a-week pay-checks without playing, making only 9 appearances over 4 years.