Transfer Talk: How Chelsea’s most expensive signings fared at the Bridge

Chelsea’s late swoop to hijack Arsenal’s deal for Mykhailo Mudryk from Shakhtar Donetsk was one of the most eye-catching transfers of recent times.

The Ukrainian winger, 22, became one of the club’s most expensive signings when he arrived at Stamford Bridge for an initial £62million, which could rise to a whopping £89m.

Ahead of his potential debut at Liverpool on Saturday, we look at how Chelsea‘s five other most expensive buys have fared in West London.

5. Alvaro Morata (£60m from Real Madrid, 2017)

Real Madrid’s Alvaro Morata was the No9 tasked with replacing Diego Costa, who had fallen out of favour under boss Antonio Conte.

But like many marksmen who had gone before him and indeed after him at Stamford Bridge, Morata struggled for consistency during his time in the Premier League.

The Spain international netted six times in his first six league games for Conte’s side but struggled to maintain that scoring touch, leaving for Atletico Madrid in January 2019 with 24 goals in 72 appearances.

4. Kepa Arrizabalaga (£71.6m from Athletic Bilbao, 2018)

To say Kepa Arrizabalaga’s time at Chelsea has been mixed would be an understatement — but things are now looking more positive for the Basque No1.

The £71.6m Chelsea paid for his services from Athletic Bilbao in 2018 still stands as the world record for a goalkeeper as the Blues desperately scrambled for a replacement for Real Madrid-bound Thibaut Courtois.

He struggled to live up to that expectation having found himself out of the first-team picture multiple times due to mistakes and controversial moments — most notably when defying Maurizio Sarri’s orders for him to be substituted in the 2019 Carabao Cup final.

But having won back the No1 shirt under Graham Potter this term, the 28-year-old is now one of Chelsea’s more consistent performers in a disappointing season overall.

3. Kai Havertz (£71m from Bayer Leverkusen, 2020)

Kai Havertz was the marquee signing of the summer under Frank Lampard in 2020.

The German forward initially struggled to settle under Lampard but found form under successor Thomas Tuchel and his first season in Chelsea colours ended with him scoring the winning goal in the Champions League final against Manchester City.

Since then, Havertz, 23, has enjoyed periods of superb scoring form for the Blues but has failed to impress consistently enough in the centre forward position he is often deployed.

2. Wesley Fofana (£75m from Leicester, 2022)

It is too early to judge whether Wesley Fofana will be a success at the Bridge having been hampered with injuries since his big-money switch from Leicester last summer.

The 22-year-old missed the majority of his final season for the Foxes but rightly earned a reputation as one of the Premier League’s most promising defenders in his first campaign at the King Power Stadium.

There is no doubt Chelsea have a supreme talent on their hands — but with only four Premier League appearances this term, the £75m they spent on the former Saint-Etienne ace remains a gamble by owner Todd Boehly at this stage.

1. Romelu Lukaku (£97.5m from Inter Milan, 2021)

Romelu Lukaku was meant to be the man who would finally solve Chelsea’s age-old striker problem when they forked out £97.5m to seal his return to West London from Inter Milan in 2021.

Having just netted 24 goals in 36 appearances during the Nerazzurri’s title-winning campaign in 2020-21, there was no doubting the Belgian’s pedigree to finally make himself a hero at Stamford Bridge.

But scoring only eight league goals in his first season back, Lukaku was returned to Inter on loan, with any hopes of retrieving his Chelsea career appearing unlikely.