Six strikers ruined by Chelsea from Andriy Shevchenko to PSV phenomenon

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While the likes of Didier Drogba and Diego Costa will be forever etched into Chelsea folklore, few heroes in west London tend to be strikers.

Down the years, Blues fans have looked to the likes of Eden Hazard, Frank Lampard, John Terry and N'Golo Kante for inspiration, but reliable centre forwards have been few and far between.

You see, Chelsea have a habit of 'breaking' strikers.

Some of the very best goalscorers in Europe have been funnelled through the doors at Stamford Bridge in the past decade-and-a-half, but few have left with their reputations intact.

The goals dry up, the confidence disappears and over the past few seasons, Chelsea's strikers have had about as much of a shelf life as their managers.

Romelu Lukaku threatens to become the latest victim of the curse after stuttering through his first six months since arriving from Inter Milan as one of the world's most fearsome No 9s.

Whether the Belgian can turn it around remains to be seen, but history isn't exactly on his side.

With that in mind, here are six top strikers whose careers were ruined after joining Chelsea.

Fernando Torres

We'll start with arguably the most famous of cases. Fernando Torres put the fear of God into Premier League defenders at Liverpool and Chelsea made a serious statement by signing him for a club-record £50million in January 2011.

While the Spaniard's form had noticeably dipped during his final few months at Anfield, no one could have predicated how much Torres would implode at Stamford Bridge.

It took him until April to net his first goal for the club and a series of glaring misses haunted him for the next season-and-a-half.

The move wasn't a total disaster – as Torres played a key part in the club's Champions League and Europa League triumphs in 2012 and 2013 – but his three-and-a-half year spell in London won't be remembered fondly.

Which of these six failed Chelsea strikers was the biggest disappointment? Let us know in the comments section below…

Andriy Shevchenko

Just like Torres, Andriy Shevchenko arrived at Chelsea as one of the most lethal strikers around, but almost immediately fell flat on his face.

Big things were expected from a man who had averaged 25 goals a season during his seven-year spell at AC Milan, but the Ukrainian only managed to net nine league goals in two seasons before being shipped back to Italy on loan.

Drogba's sparkling form didn't exactly help, with Jose Mourinho preferring to play the Ivorian over a man seemingly thrust into the side on Roman Abramovich's request.

But even when given a consistent run in the team, Shevchenko looked nothing like the player who won the Ballon d'Or in 2004.

Alvaro Morata

He didn't arrive with the same pedigree that Shevchenko or Torres had, but Chelsea fans were excited when Alvaro Morata joined from Real Madrid in 2017.

But could he replace Diego Costa, the man who had spearheaded two title victories in three years for the Blues? In short, no.

The Spaniard actually started his Chelsea career strongly, scoring 10 league goals before Christmas, but a back injury and a series of high-profile misses knocked his confidence and the goals quickly began to dry up.

The following season was plagued by more easy misses and troubles in his personal life, and Morata was shipped back to Spain in the winter window.

Timo Werner

There's still time for Timo Werner to turn things around at Chelsea, but not if his first 18 months at the club are anything to go by.

The German was on fire for RB Leipzig, scoring nearly a century of goals in four years and attracting interest from some of the biggest clubs in Europe, but has managed just seven league goals for Chelsea so far.

Like Morata, he actually started brightly, but after missing a series of sitters he lost that natural instinct that Chelsea paid £53 million for.

Werner hasn't exactly had luck on his side either. He's netted 18 goals since arriving at Stamford Bridge, but has had 16 ruled out by VAR.

Mateja Kezman

It's easy to forget how good Mateja Kezman was in the Eredivisie, given his painfully underwhelming season with Chelsea.

The Serbian striker scored 129 goals in 176 games for PSV, but was nothing more than a damp squib in the Premier League after joining the Blues' Russian revolution in 2004.

Chelsea fans had to wait until December for his first league goal, and were more than happy to see him leave the following summer, despite scoring against Liverpool in the Carling Cup final in 2005.

Kezman departed having scored just seven goals in 41 matches, but surprisingly maintains that his 12 months in west London was the pinnacle of his career.

Adrian Mutu

Given that a seven-month drug ban ruined Adrian Mutu's career at Chelsea, it feels a little unfair including him on this list.

But the Romanian arrived at the club with a big reputation and left with it in tatters, so we're counting him *sticks tongue out*.

Mutu made a name for himself after a promising couple of seasons in Serie A with Hellas Verona and later Parma, before becoming one of Abramovich's first signings at Stamford Bridge.

Attitude problems dogged his first year in the Premier League and Mutu fell out with Mourinho when the Special One replaced Claudio Ranieri in 2004.

A few weeks later he tested positive for cocaine and was booted out the club.

Chelsea sued the striker for compensation and the legal battle rumbled on until 2015, with Mutu forced to pay the club £14 million in damages.

• Chelsea FC
• Premier League
• Timo Werner
• Romelu Lukaku

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