Fresh off a transfer ban and a quiet January, it’s been a while since Chelsea have made any signings.
And given time to breathe, a young Blues squad is now making a name for itself and looks set for a return to the Champions League.
In fact a transfer ban may sometimes be advisable.
We take a look at some of Chelsea’s more transient and forgotten ‘stars’, and what they’ve been up to since their time at Stamford Bridge.
Fabio Borini
Fabio Borini has played for some big clubs, and you’d be forgiven for forgetting that one of them was Chelsea.
The Italian signed his first professional contract with the Blues and made eight appearances for them too.
But Borini’s career since forms a curious pattern.
A successful loan spell at Swansea was followed by a drab time at Parma followed by a great stint at Roma followed by a miserable period at Liverpool followed by a revitalising loan at Sunderland followed by a difficult spell at AC Milan.
Now at Verona, expect great things.
The man is nothing but inconsistent and has at least played in some fantastic football stadiums.
Papy Djilibodji
It’s a classic quiz question. Who made their only Chelsea appearance by replacing Radamel Falcao in the Blues’ third round League Cup match away to Walsall?
Papy Djilibodji did.
And that was that for the Senagalese international who had looked such an exciting prospect after a great five years with Nantes in which the defender caught the attention of many Premier League clubs.
It wasn’t meant to be.
A loan spell with Werder Bremen followed before Sunderland signed him for a questionable £8 million.
Two seasons later and he was sacked by the Black Cats for breach of contract.
Djilibodji now plays his football in Turkey with Gazisehir Gaziantep.
Scott Sinclair
A true journeyman of British football, having appeared for no less than 14 clubs. That’s almost an entire league’s worth of teams.
Chelsea signed a 16-year-old Scott Sinclair from Bristol Rovers in 2005. ‘One for the future’, Sinclair was sent out on loan to Plymouth Argyle, QPR, Charlton, Palace, Birmingham and Wigan. And it was Carlo Ancelotti who eventually decided he was one for another club’s future.
Sinclair had shown glimpses of his potential with Chelsea but struggled to find his spot in a fiercely competitive midfield under the Italian manager.
But his next career move was showed that such talent was simply dormant, not gone. He excelled at Swansea, netting 36 times in 91 games and landing himself in the Championship team of the year. Even grabbing a spot in Team GB’s ill-fated 2012 Olympic campaign.
A peculiar move to Manchester City went as expected – not many minutes. He has since played for Aston Villa and Celtic, but currently pulls on a Preston shirt.
All that, and he’s only 30!
Jiri Jarosik
Jiri Jaroski has more Premier League medals than Steven Gerrard. These are the facts.
Jarosik signed for Jose Mourinho’s Chelsea for £3 million in January 2005, and notched up 14 appearances before the season ended, grabbing himself a winner’s medal. Cult status established.
But along came Michael Essien and so ended Jarosik’s short but successful spell at Chelssea.
On loan he went to Birmingham before signing for Celtic. And by most metrics the Czech midfielder had a successful career after his time at Stamford Bridge.
A regular starter wherever he went, scoring the odd goal here and there. Jarosik eventually retired after two seasons with Deportivo Alaves.
Asier del Horno
Asier del Horno has more Premier League medals than Steven Gerrard. Again, these are just the facts.
Another of Chelsea’s one-season wonders. Del Horno joined in 2005, made 25 Premier League appearances, grabbed a winner’s medal and left. In that time he also crunched a 17-year-old Lionel Messi and received a red card.
Back in Spain with Valencia, Del Horno struggled with injuries for the rest of his career and retired at just 31 years old.
Still, he has a Premier League winner’s medal, the only league championship of his career.
A good time in west London makes up for the disappointment that followed.
Pierluigi Casiraghi
A 90s throwback with a haircut to match. For those too young to remember, he was like Andriy Shevchenko but seven years earlier. For those of you too young to remember Shevchenko, think Fernando Torres.
Lots of money, not many goals.
Pierluigi Casiraghi was scoring for fun at Juventus and Lazio before he made a high-profile £5.4 million move to west London in his late 20s – Chelsea’s record signing at the time.
10 Premier League appearances and one goal later, his time at Stamford Bridge was cut short by injury. 10 operations later and the club gave up, claiming £4 million in insurance.
Casiraghi’s contract was terminated and his career at an end.
Winston Bogarde
Chelsea were spending big money on superstars before Roman Abrahmovich came along. Just ask Winston Bogarde.
Back-to-back titles at Ajax and then at Barcelona had built quite the reputation for the Dutch international.
Chelsea came calling with a big four-year contract, and the rest is history.
Boss Claudio Ranieri wanted him out almost immediately but Bogarde stayed, enamoured with his weekly salary.
The defender resisted calls to leave and stuck around for four years, honouring the conditions of his contract in exchange for a big pay day, making just 11 appearances for the club.
'I may be one of the worst buys in the history of the Premiership but I don't care.'
At 34, he retired once his contract had ended.
